Modtropolis (Episode One): Welcome to Redford Vale [Complete]

[TobiasMasonPark]

     Modtropolis has always been a weird city; Redford Vale was a weirder town. But after the gruesome slaughter of two inhabitants of the town's apartment complex--Finch Apartments-- things get stranger; especially when the apartment of the slaughtered is purchased a mere two days later by a nineteen year old and his cousins. The people at Finch begin to investigate the supernatural murders that start to take place, and the role of the Mason boys in all of the terror.

Appearing: The Corpse of Michel Giuseppe
                  : The Corpse of Rob Peters
                  : KitCloudKicker as Jessica Shalner
                  : Frank as Frank
                  : Empress Goose as James Mason
                  : Horsefan as Rebecca "Becca" Seely
                  : Mike as Mike Phoenix
                                                                                 
                                                                                      I
   
     Modtropolis was known for being an unusual place to live. If you were living here you’d have learned long ago to expect the strange and bizarre. It was a city with a dark past; one with a history of odd deaths and more mysterious murders. And these murders were rivalled only by the steady increase in the number of disappearances over the past year and a half.  Nevertheless, people continued to live there—voluntarily, one may add. It seemed to be a favourite amongst families, especially. And even with the murders, deaths and disappearances—along with all the other strange things that happened in Modtropolis—it is generally believed that the city itself only became unbearably strange with the arrival of a young man and his two cousins; for this is when the demon sightings began. Yes, even considering the city’s history, there had not been one demon sighting.
   
     Autumn had only just arrived. It wasn’t unheard of for faint reminders of the past summer to linger throughout the month of September. And yet, the nights had become noticeably longer, and the trees had begun to change colour, despite experts claiming that it had been too early for such a thing to take place. Still, this wasn’t even close to being the weirdest thing to happen to RAF—not by a long shot. At best, the people of Modtropolis overlooked this sudden leap into the autumn season.
     
     The most prominent town within the city was called Redford Vale: a quaint little place that had only recently—perhaps over the last thirty years—shed its image of being a village within the city. It had two primary schools, two high schools, and a university. It is known for its medium-sized shopping malls, and small businesses; but, perhaps above all, it is known for being the home of one of the largest apartment complexes in any town in the country. The apartment itself began as a bed and breakfast owned by a prominent townswoman named Rebecca Anne Finch. Over a century later, her home would be torn down and replaced by a much larger building, courtesy of her great-grandson, Robert. The building would further be expanded upon by Robert’s nephew, Richard. Since its inception—dating back to the mid-1800s—Finch apartments has been home for over ten thousand people, and at reasonable rates, too.
     In fact, the two men who were found dead on the evening of the 15th of September were relatively new inhabitants of Finch apartments, and their bodies were, in fact, found not too far away from the very same building. Of course, the fact that these two men were dead was an afterthought—and a tragic one at that. No, what truly grabbed the attention of everyone in Redford Vale—and, to a lesser extent, Modtropolis—was the nature of their deaths. All accounts tell of more or less the same thing: that the bodies of Mr. Giuseppe and Mr. Peters looked as though they were ripped apart, eaten and drained by something very large, very vicious, and very, very hungry.
     
     The crime scene was about five blocks away from the Finch building. Peters and Giuseppe were known for their nightly walks together—there was a rather unkind rumor about the two circulating the southend. The investigators identified the bodies on the chance finding of their wallets—the one thing the…whatever it was that killed them had left behind. There were many theories in the works, but none of them were very plausible. Most felt that the crime was supernatural, though nobody would voice such an opinion out loud. At the end of the day, nobody could understand why any man of sound mind would want to murder Giuseppe and Peters. It was concluded that no man could have possibly killed the two victims; and no animal native to the town or its outskirts could have been capable of such an atrocity. Whatever had done the crime knew what it was doing; and it had fun doing it.
     
     Almost as curious as the events taking place on the evening of the 15th would be those that took place on the morning of the 17th. Hardly two days after Giuseppe and Peters had been declared dead, there had been a sudden occupancy in apartment 4D—a young man who looked to be about university age, and his two cousins. This brought a second question to the minds of those living at Finch apartments—how on earth could three boys, two of whom were hardly out of school, afford an apartment at Finch? This was something a young Jessica Shalner sought to investigate, albeit indirectly. She wasn’t the sort of neighbour who just walked over to greet someone with a freshly baked pie. So, Jessica Shalner did the next best thing.
     
     The door to apartment 4D opened; behind it was a nineteen year old boy of average height and light brown eyes that seemed to only just match his darkened brown hair. The boy blinked at a young girl, hardly older than fifteen, standing outside his home.
     
     “Yes?” the boy said, still blinking. It was almost as if he had never had a visitor.
   
      “Hi. I’m Becca Seely.” She said, simply. “My…mother asked me to come greet you with this.” She presented the boy with a store bought pie—with a slice or two missing. “You know, a ‘welcome to Finch Apartments’ gift.”
     
     “Er…thanks.” The boy said, taking the pie. “That’s rather…thanks.”
   
      “Sorry, I didn’t catch your name.” the girl said quickly, before the new owner of 4D could close his door.
     
     “Oh. Uh…I’m James. James Mason.”
     
     “Mason…Is that a last name, or is your name hyphenated?”
     
     “It’s actually my middle…sorry, where is your mother?”
     
     “She’s around. Busy with dad and all. You know parents.”
     
     “Yea. Parents are…yea.” He finished, lamely, still holding the already eaten pie. “Er…thanks again for the pie.”
     
     Becca Seely found herself on the other side of a recently slammed door. She would have to report to Ms. Shalner empty handed.
     
     Meanwhile, down the hall at apartment 4J, Ms. Jessica Shalner was conversing with her boyfriend, Frank.
     
     “It’s a bit weird, yea.” Frank mumbled, watching his wife glaring at their front door. “But it’s not something that hasn’t happened before.”
   
    “Oh, sure, this has happened plenty of times before.” Jess grumbled. “You know, shady neighbours moving into an apartment owned by the newly slaughtered. It’s just like on those TV dramas. I’ll bet they have a secret. I’m telling you Frank, this is weird. Majorly weird.”
     
     “No. Weird is sending Rebecca to a stranger’s house with a pie that is not only store bought, but has already been eaten. Also,” he continued. “Why send a ninth grader over to the home of someone you suspect is a crazed murderer?”
   
      Jess threw Frank a look that shut him up rather quickly. “You should take this seriously. Two men are dead.”
     
     “Yea. It’s a tragedy. And, I’ll admit, it’s a strange coincidence that these people just show up right when there’s a vacancy in the apartment. But you saw the pictures of the bodies. There’s no way some kid was able to do that to Giuseppe and Peters. Whatever it was, it wasn’t human.”
   
      “Do you want to say that any louder, Frank, dear?” Jess growled. “I’m sure that there are people on this floor who haven’t heard you.”
     
     “You’re being paranoid.”
     
     “No. I’m being perfectly sane.” Jess argued. “If people to thin that something…something not human was to blame for these murders, who do you think they’re going to talk to? Huh?”
   
     “We were kids. We were fooling around. Nobody’s going to think anything.”
     
     “Frank,” Jess said, now showing signs of fright. “They’ll think someone in town summoned whatever it was that killed them. And there are only a handful of people who are capable of doing it. And there are far less who have reason to kill them.”
   
      “Listen, Jess.” Frank said, seizing his girlfriend by the shoulders. “I will not let anything happen to you, understand? You’ve got nothing to worry about. We have people here who love us and will back us up so long as we’re 100% innocent. So relax, sit down, and let me just drive down to the store for some more pie.”
   
     There was a knock at the front door. Both figured it was Rebecca, coming back to report to Jess. Frank opened the door to see someone who wasn’t quite a little girl.
     
     “Hey, Frank. I need to speak to you and Jess for a sec.”
     
     “Sure, Mike. What about?”
     
     Michael Phoenix walked into the apartment of Frank Abbot and Jess Shalner. “It’s about Giuseppe and Peter’s—their murders. We all know it wasn’t a person who did that.”
     
     “So, what do you think did it?”
     
     “We’re not sure.” Mike sighed. “Honestly, it could be almost anything. I tell you, this is above Redford. This should be dealt with by the big boys up in Mod. But I can’t get a hold of anyone there, so I’ll have to start gathering the troops here.”
     
     “What makes you think we can help?” Frank asked, casually. “We will help, I mean. But why us?”
     
     “Because you two are good at what you do, that’s why. Because the both of you have experience in the…er…not normal.” Mike grinned. “I need help. I need a lead. Do you think you guys could check around for some information? Consult your books?”
     
     Frank turned to look at his girlfriend. “It’s your call, Jess.”
     
     “Keep in mind that there are only a handful of people I can ask.” Mike said. “And only half of those are people I can trust.”
   
      Jess understood. She didn’t like it. It was far too risky. But she knew that she had little choice in the matter.
     
     “Alright. Frank and I will help.”
     
     “Perfect. Just keep me posted.” Mike said, nodding to both Frank and Jess before exiting the apartment. “And…er…don’t send Becca to 4D anymore. Not until we know who we’re dealing with.”
     
     Meanwhile, James Mason was sitting at his computer, visiting an online forum. Behind him appeared a boy not quite sixteen. He sported a buzz cut, and was on the tall side—slightly taller than his older cousin, much taller than his older brother.
     
     “Cool. Who brought the pie?”
   
     “Neighbour girl.” James replied. “There are some slices missing. Also, it looks like it’s frozen.”
     
     “It’s all going in the same place, isn’t it?”
     
     “Touché.”
     
     “James. What are we doing here?”
     
     “Settling down. I think I’ve found what we’ve been looking for.”
     
     “And that would be?”
     
     “Nothing you need to worry about, Luc. You just focus on keeping a low profile. Try not to draw attention to yourself.”
     
     “You aren’t going to find her here, man.” Lucas said. “You didn’t find her in any of the other places we’ve been to. When are we going to give up and go home?”
   
     Believe it or not, buddy, this isn’t about Val.” James said, looking away from the computer. “This is about family.”

[TobiasMasonPark]

                                                                                  II
Appearing: Unknown User as Anthony Ville
                  : KitCloudKicker as Jessica Shalner
                  : Frank as Frank
                  : Empress Goose as James Mason
                  : Tobias as the corpse of Tobias Roark
                  : Ellimist as Capt. Russell Mist
                  : Broken as Cody Duchampe
                  : Mike as Mike Phoenix
                  : Terenia [Teach] as Jessi
                  : SuperNate as Nate
                  : Random 1 as Forensic 1
                  : Random 2 as Forensic 2

     The one thing Anthony Ville hadn’t planned on waking up to on the morning of the eighteenth was a dead body outside his window. And the body was not on the ground. No, it had been hanging from his balcony by a tie. It seemed as though the man had done it himself, except for the fact that his body was badly cut up, and that there was not, in fact, a head attached. The only reason Anthony could even tell it had been a man was due to the fact that the body in question had been his next door neighbour, who Anthony had the displeasure of seeing off to work every morning at roughly 8:00 a.m. He wondered where the poor man’s head had gone.
     
     After a brief moment of picturing the disturbingly humorous image of the man’s head being played with like a soccer ball by school children, Anthony called the one person he could think of who would react with a level head in such a situation.
     
     Jessica Shalner, after arriving with Frank at the scene, then threw up at the sight of the hanging body of Tobias.
     
     “Three murders in the span of a few days.” Frank said, shaking his head. “How’d you think the body got all the way up here?”
     
     “I’m hoping they just climbed their way up.” Tony mumbled, standing as far away from the body as possible. “But I’m thinking that they got in through the front door.”
     
     “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but poor Tobias.” Jess said, cleaning the edges of her mouth with a napkin. Tony presented her with a glass of water, which she accepted gratefully. “I mean…his head is gone.”
     
     “Giuseppe, Peters, Tobias.” Frank said. “Anything they have in common?”
     
     “You thinking the murders are linked?” Tony asked.
     
     “Well, I’m hoping these deaths aren’t just random.” Frank answered. “If that’s the case…well, we’ll have our hands full. The way I see it is like this: we’ve had three deaths all in the span of less than a week. Three people who live in this building. If this continues then we either have a killer with a grudge, or a deranged psycho.”
     
     “Why can’t it be both?” a voice asked from behind. Everyone turned to see the new neighbour, James Mason, standing in the threshold of Tony’s apartment. He was dressed, but did not look as though he was going to work. He was wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans, topped off with a leather jacket. No one said a word in response. They were still taking him in. Finally, Tony asked, in his usual sarcastic tone: “What are you, a detective?”
     
     “Hardly.” James said, walking into the room, glaring at the hanging body outside the balcony. “I was just walking back to my apartment. I had a conversation with Mike Phoenix. Wanted to thank him for making the sale on short notice. I heard someone say something about a murder.”
     
     “Yea…Strange, isn’t it?” Frank said, casually.
     
     “Third one this week.” James nodded. “It’s odd. Not unheard off, though.”
     
     “And what’s that supposed to mean?” Jess asked with an accusatory tone.
     
     “Clearly it means that three deaths in the span of a few days aren’t uncommon, dear.” Frank said to his girlfriend.
     
     “Have the police been called yet?” James asked Tony.
     
     “No. I’m just going to let a body hang from my balcony.” Tony grumbled. “I figure it would be a fantastic substitute for Santa Clause at freaking Christmas time.”
     
     James was slightly amused. “I see. In that case, I’ve got some dead reindeer in the trunk of my car that might interest you.”
     
     No one laughed at this.
     
     “A joke.” James assured them. “I do that sometimes…er…How long ago did you call the police?”
     
     “About five minutes ago? I wanted Jess and Frank to pop by first.” Tony answered.
     
     The group waited for the Redford Vale police department to show up. Tony offered to make everyone tea—except for James, who politely asked for coffee.
     
     “Only if you’ve got it,” James added. “I don’t wanna impose.”
     
     “No problem. I’ve got some.” Tony said. “Jess, mind helping me out?”
     
     Jess and Tony entered the kitchen through the dining room. Tony put the kettle on the stove and immediately said to Jessica: “Nerve of the guy. Who comes over to somebody’s house—in the middle of an investigation no less—and asks for coffee instead of tea?! I mean, never mind the fact that I’ve had the scare of my life just now—corpse hanging from my bloody balcony…literally.”
     
     “Weird that he shows up at the scene of the crime.” Jessica pointed out. “Just happened to be walking about, did he?”
     
     Back in the sitting room, James and Frank sat awkwardly across from one another; Tobias’ body still hanging from the balcony.
     
     “So. What do you do for a living?” Frank asked, avoiding the corpse hanging out the window.
     
     “Unemployed.” James said. “I’m looking after my cousins in apartment 4D.”
     
     “You look about nineteen, maybe twenty.” Frank said. “And you’re looking after your cousins. I assume they’re younger?”
     
     “The oldest is just out of school. His brother is sixteen.” James said.
     
     “And you manage to hold an apartment for three?”
     
     “Well... My parents are doing well financially.”
     
     “Ah.” Was all Frank had to say to that.
     
     Suddenly there was a knock at the door.
     
     “I’ll get it.” Frank and James said in unison.
     
     Tony, being in the kitchen and therefore closer, opened the door instead. Three men and a woman were standing in the doorway—two officers and two people who looked as though they were medically trained.
     
     “Heya, Russell.” Tony said, motioning the group into the house. “The…er…Tobias is…just go to the balcony.”
     
     The man and woman who looked to be medics nodded and carried a gurney over to the balcony, leaving the two police officers with the owner of the house.
     
     “Gotta say, Tones, this isn’t exactly how I wanted to start my day.” The second officer said, taking out a pen and note pad.
   
     “Sorry to inconvenience you, Codes.” Tony snapped. “Excuse me for waking up to a dead body.”
     
     “That’s not what I meant.”
     
     “Hey, Archie and Edith,” the first officer, Russell, interrupted. “Mind if you do this later? We’ve got better things to discuss. Like the poor sap hanging dead over there.”
     
     Tony just stared daggers at the shorter of the two cops; Cody just looked back, helplessly.
     
     “Alright. You just woke up and the body was hanging there?”
     
     “Yes.” Tony answered.
     
     “And the body hadn’t been there the previous night?”
     
     “I think I would have noticed if it had been.”
     
     There was an ear piercing whistle that filled the room.
     
     “The victim was a neighbour of yours, correct?” asked Russell.
     
     “Yea. Tobias Roark. We’d often leave for work at the same time.”
     
     “Do you know if the deceased had any enemies?” Cody asked.
     
     “Well…I wasn’t too fond of the guy…But I didn’t kill him.”
   
    “Not what I asked.” Cody said. “Do you know of anyone else who would have?”
   
    “Is that Russell?” Jessica asked, walking out from the kitchen. “Sorry. The tea kettle was going off.”
     
    “Morning, Jessica.” Cody said, tipping his hat.
     
     “Hello, Cody. Russell. Can Tony get something for you?”
     
     “No, no.” Russell replied. “We’re here on business. Well…obviously…”
     
     “Excuse me, sir,” Cody said to James. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”
     
     “Uh…James.” James Mason said, offering his hand to the policeman. “I recently moved into apartment 4D.”
     
     “Giuseppe and Peters’ place.” Russell said to Cody. Both men looked at the newcomer.
     
     “I don’t particularly like the look people give me when I tell them that.” James said. “Am I a suspect for simply moving into the apartment?”
     
     “It sure is convenient.” Jess mumbled.
     
     “A coincidence, I assure you.” James replied. “I think the people who have lived in this building for a few years are more likely to have killed these people than me. I hadn’t stepped foot into Modtropolis before all this craziness.”
     
     “Nobody was accusing you,” Frank assured him. “I’m sure Jess didn’t mean it like that.”
     
     “Oh, yes I did. And you know I did, Frank.” Jessica said matter of factly.
     
     “Charming girl.”
     
     “That’s our Jess,” Tony said to James. “Ain’t afraid to speak her mind.”
   
     “Aggressive, you mean?” James retorted. “I hear aggression is kind of a prerequisite for murder.”
   
      “Alright, everyone settle down.” Russell barked. “Nobody is being accused. Yet. We’re not even sure the murders are linked.”
     
     “Well, not definitely, anyway.” one of the forensics said from the balcony.
     
     “How do you mean?” Cody asked. “Did you find something?”
     
     “Some hair.” The boy answered. “Similar to the sort found on both Giuseppe and Peters.”
     
     “Similar. But not definite.” The girl added. “We don’t even know if it’s human.”
     
     “Not human?” Tony repeated. “What else could it have been?”
     
     “Well—“Cody began.
     
     “Nothing.” Russell said, cutting his partner off. “It’s still too early. I imagine the labs hadn’t come to any conclusions as to what the hair found on the first two victims was.”
     
     “Not yet, no.” The male forensic said. “Should be a few days.”
     
     The duo had finished their examination of Tobias’ body—though the head had not been found. They placed the corpse on the gurney, covered it with a black tarp—a la CSI—and carried it out into the hallway. About an hour later, the two police officers, Frank, Jess and James had all left Tony’s apartment. Tony, despite having his apartment cleaned, and then cleaned once more by his own hands, could not sit still and so called Jess to ask if he could stay at her apartment.
     
     By noon the entire building had heard of Tobias’ untimely demise. Not a soul in the apartment complex thought that the murders of Giuseppe and Peters and Tobias Roark were unrelated.
     
     “For starters,” began Jessi, a teacher who lived on the sixth floor of the building. “All three of the bodies looked as though they had been mauled by some wild animal. Roark’s didn’t even have its head!”
     
     “Is anyone else really, really disturbed by that fact?” Tony asked, shakily. “I mean…you don’t think it’s under my bed, right?”
     
     “Wild animal, maybe. Human…hopefully not.” Mike Phoenix mumbled. “We have a theory…”
     
     “Oh, good. A theory.” Tony said, sarcastically. “Let’s hear it then.”
     
     “Well…we’re thinking the…whatever it was that killed these men may have been supernatural.”
     
     “As in not natural?” Nate asked.
     
     “Well…yea.” Mike said. “Now, I’m thinking we’ve got some sort of demon on our hands. Maybe sentient, maybe not. It’s hard to tell. But there’s a chance we may be dealing with something semi-intelligent.”
     
     “And even if it’s not intelligent, whoever summoned it could very well be.” Jessica added.
     
     “Wait…we’re seriously considering demons as possible culprits?” Nate asked, slightly amused. “Jess, what’s in this tea?”
     
     “There’s no denying that Redford Vale isn’t ordinary, people.” Mike insisted. “We all know it. Nobody wants to admit it. But let’s all just think about it. This isn’t the first time a mutilated corpse has turned up around here.”
     
     “No. This is just the first time it’s been one of us.” Jess said.

[TobiasMasonPark]

                                                                                    III
Appearing: King Hyrule as Lucas Shaw
                  : DarkCyclone as Nicolas Shaw
                  : Terenia [Teach] as Jessi Anderson
                  : Horsefan as Rebecca "Becca" Seely
                  : NewBlazingAngel as "Blonde Haired boy"
     Redford Vale Secondary School was one of two high schools in the town of Redford Vale. The other was St. Richard’s Catholic Secondary School on the other side of the town. Having been raised catholic, James intended to enrol his sixteen year old cousin, Lucas Shaw, at St. Richard’s. He decided against this at the last minute, for reasons only known to James. Luc’s opinion on where to get his education had been a moot point. The poor kid was nervous enough already on his first day of school—being the new kid for the first time in his life. The fact that James had nonchalantly dropped him off at whichever school he picked out of a hat was disconcerting.
     
     It didn’t help matters that James hadn’t even taken Lucas to school that morning. His brother Nicolas did, instead. This was James’ first mistake after moving to Redford Vale, as the two siblings rarely got along.
     
     “I don’t need you to walk me to school.” Lucas said for the second time since leaving the house.
     
     “Yes you do.” Nicolas said. “James said you did.”
     
     “And James turned into our dad when?”
     
     “He’s responsible for you. And since he was busy, he put me in charge of you. Therefore, you need someone to walk you to school.”
     
     “Busy? James doesn’t even work!” Lucas shouted, incredulously. “He just sits on his laptop all day, checking out some stupid magical forum.”
     
     “A magical forum?” Nicolas repeated. “Like…one with super powers?”
     
     “No.” Lucas said. “One dealing with actual magic. I saw the title of the forum over his shoulder last night.”
     
     “Well, that’s James’ business then.” Nicolas decided.
     
     “What do you plan on doing all day?”
     
     “I don’t know. I may run. Maybe hang out with James.”
     
     “This is totally unfair.” Lucas mumbled. “Why do I have to go to school while you and James just veg out all day? I mean, we don’t even need school. Apparently we have money.”
     
     “What money?” Nicolas asked.
     
     “How do you think James paid for the apartment?” Lucas groaned at his brother’s apparent slow wit. “Ponies?”
     
     “That would be funny.” Nicolas said.
   
      “I wonder what the girls look like here.” Lucas said after a momentary pause.
     
     “Nuh uh. Stay away from the girls.” Nicolas ordered.
     
     “Why?”
     
     “You freaking know why!” Nicolas snapped. “You know we’re not supposed to.”
     
     “Oh…that.” Lucas mumbled. “Well, maybe it skips a generation.”
     
     “Doubt it.” Nicolas retorted. “When has it ever skipped a generation? Never, that’s when. So just do yourself a favour and avoid the girls. You don’t wanna end up like James.”
     
     “I’m totally gonna tell him you said that.” Lucas smirked.
     
     “You’d better not.” Nicolas said, slightly worried.
     
     “I just might.” Lucas told his brother. “Or, I might not. It depends on how often you piss me off.”
     
      “You…piss me off.” Was all Nicolas could come up with in response.
     
     The school was a good fifteen minutes walking distance from Finch apartments. Nicolas and his younger brother stood, awkwardly outside the building; both were unsure of what to do next. Should they hug? Was a manly handshake in order?
     
     The two settled for a casual: “See you later then” which was initiated by the elder sibling. Nicolas turned his back on his brother and made his way home for the day. Lucas was to endure the second biggest threat Redford Vale could throw at him: high school.
     
     The warning bell signalling for first period went off; Lucas hurried his way to room 216 for his English class. He enjoyed the class, but the subject of English wasn’t his strong suit. At best he could get by with a passing grade. He did speak the language after all. Passing was almost a guarantee.
     
     He was much more concerned with making friends. He hadn’t had many at his last school; nor had his brother. In fact, the males in Lucas’ family were generally introverted young men who kept to themselves. James, too, was shy and quiet, and often sat in the back of the class room—which is what Lucas imagined he would do on his first day. A tiny voice in the back of his mind told him to just stay low and keep to himself. But this had been the problem for the men in his family; this very voice was the reason few of them had many friends.
     
     As usual Lucas told himself what many men in his family had told themselves before him: this year would be different. For starters, he chose the middle seat of the second row in his English class—what he felt to be a reasonable compromise between not quite in the back, but not so close as to come off as a keener. And he felt genuinely proud of this step forward in honing his social skills. This would, however, be short lived, as he found himself to be the only person in the room. The actual school bell had yet to go off.
     
     The second person to enter was the teacher herself, somewhat surprised that an actual student had arrived early. She was young, possibly in her late twenties to early thirties, and wore an attractive black pant-suit.
     
     “Good morning.” She said with a warm smile. “Playing the early bird today?”
     
     “Uh…yea. I guess so.” Lucas said, managing an attempt at a smile.
     
     “Well, the other kids will shuffle in eventually. You’re either Lucas or Jean Claude.”
     
     “Uh, Lucas.” He replied. “I’m new.”
     
     The teacher smiled. “Nice to meet you. I’m Ms. Anderson. Do you enjoy English?”
     
     “Oh, yea.” Lucas said, somewhat enthused. “I liked what we read last year.”
     
     “Oh? And what would that be?”
     
     “Sorry?” Lucas asked.
     
     “What did you read last year?”
     
     “Oh. Sorry. Um. We read Romeo and Juliet.”
     
     “Lucky you. We’re reading that this year. Your school’s curriculum was probably a lot different than ours.”
     
     “Oh.” Lucas said. “Lucky.”
   
     “I’ll have to give you a copy of what we’re reading at the moment. Have you read Catcher in the Rye?”
     
     “No. But my cousin James has. We might have a copy at the apartment. Thing is, we only just moved in…”
     
     “Oh, is that right?” Ms. Anderson asked, somewhat troubled. “You live at Finch?”
     
     “Yea. We moved there pretty quick, I guess.”
     
     “Interesting. So, James Mason is your cousin?”
     
     “First cousin, yea.” Lucas nodded. “Known him all my life.”
     
     “Interesting.” She said a second time. “I knew the owners of the apartment before you arrived. Nice men. Quiet, though. A shame, really.”
     
     The conversation died down somewhat after that. Lucas was sort of grateful. Conversing with kids his age was difficult enough; talking to a teacher that was much older than himself was like speaking to a foreigner. Or maybe that was just one of the many perks of being a member of his family.
     
     The other kids arrived five minutes after first bell; a mishmash of girls and boys—one of which looked as though he was repeating the class; perhaps not for the first time. This particular individual sported a rather impressive beard and sat at the very back row. Lucas knew right then that he had most definitely made the right choice. This thought was reassured when a pretty girl, slightly taller than he was, chose to sit next to him; a light haired girl with dark and mysterious eyes. On the other side of him was a blonde haired boy with glasses who also looked rather timid and quiet.
     
     The second bell rang sometime later. Almost all the seats in the class were filled. Ms. Anderson stood up and greeted her class with the same warm smile she gave Lucas. She welcomed them with the traditional good morning, class, and announced that they had two new students present: “Lucas, Jean Claude; could you both stand up so the class can get a good look at you?”
     
     Lucas stood up, quite nervous. Jean Claude, however, was nowhere in sight.
     
     Just great, Lucas thought to himself. This kid probably planned for this to happen. Probably didn’t bother showing up just to make me look dumb.
     
     “Why don’t you tell us a bit about yourself, Lucas? Before we start with Holden Caulfield.”
     
     Lucas was frozen with fear. He felt as though he was living out the premise of every sit-com pilot ever written. Why, oh why, did he have to switch schools?
     
     “Um. There’s not much to tell.” Lucas muttered. “I moved her from Toronto with my brother and cousin. I live at the Finch building down at the southend.”
     
     “You’ll be pleased to know that a lot of kids who attend this school live there,” Ms. Anderson interrupted. “Some of your classmates do.”
     
     “Oh. Uh. Good then.” Lucas continued. “Uh…Yea. I live at the southend. I like reading, I guess. Playing video games…” He mumbled on like that for a while longer, until Ms. Anderson allowed him to sit down, so that they could begin reading Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. Lucas would share a book with the girl next to him—Rebecca Seely, who apparently lived in the same building as him. And Lucas didn’t know it, but so did Jean Claude Van Daan. The reason the boy hadn’t showed up for class was not, as Lucas believed, a means of making Lucas look like a fool, but because he had suddenly developed a strange case of not being alive anymore. His death would not be announced until the murders circulating Redford Vale had ceased. And that was a great deal after the class had finished Catcher in the Rye.

[TobiasMasonPark]

                                                                                       IV

Appearing: King Hyrule as Lucas Shaw
                : Horsefan as Rebecca "Becca" Seely
                : Avatar Blue as "Blue"
                : Tinkles as Skye Clara
                : NewBlazingAngel as Nelson Angelo "Blaze" Pryor
                : Terenia [Teach] as Jessi Anderson
     
     The school cafeteria always made Lucas a little nervous. It seemed as though everyone, except for him and a few other characters, had somewhere they belonged; had a place where they fit. Lucas felt that he fit somewhat in his old home of Toronto; even if it wasn’t necessarily at school, he at least knew people he liked in Toronto. Redford Vale was literally new territory. He had only been living in town for a week, and this had been the first time he had left the apartment. He wondered why James couldn’t just let him stay home and watch TV.
     
     So there he stood, awkwardly with a tray of decent looking cafeteria food in his hand—nothing like the old TV sitcoms made cafeteria food out to be. He also didn’t see the typical sort of cliques that one would see in sitcoms like Glee. Nobody really seemed to have an identifier. There weren’t any cheerleaders wearing their uniforms outside of the gymnasium, or jocks wearing their letterman jackets. Everyone was more or less dressed the same; save for the minority of students dressed entirely in black, but that was as close to the sitcoms as it got.
     
     Lucas was tempted to eat in the men’s washroom, or even somewhere outside. He hated the whole experience of having to choose where to sit. If he sat at a table with other kids, he was intruding; if he sat at an empty table, he was a loner and therefore a loser.
     
     “Lost?” a girl asked.
     
     “Huh? Oh. Hi.” Lucas said, recognizing Rebecca Seely from class. “Not lost. Just…”
     
     “It’s intimidating, I know.” She said with a friendly smile. “But give it a few days. You’ll fit in.”
     
     “Maybe.” Lucas said, though he doubted it very much.
     
     “Come with me. I want to introduce you to some people. Most of them live at Finch. It’s kind of how we all met.”
     
     Becca led Lucas to a table on the east end of the cafeteria, where a mix of students between freshman and senior year were seated together. Lucas and Becca sat down across from three other students—a tall looking black boy, a girl with olive coloured skin and light brown hair, and the blonde haired boy from his English class. On Becca’s left were a boy and girl deep in conversation, while another girl sat on Lucas’ right. Becca introduced Lucas to the group:
     
     “He lives at Finch,” she said. “Weird, huh?”
     
     “I’m not surprised.” The black boy replied. “It seems like everyone at this school lives there. Hell, the teachers even live there.”
     
     “This is Blue.” Becca told Lucas. “He’s kind of the group’s go to man of comedy.”
     
     “He wishes.” The girl beside Blue quipped. “I’m Skye. I’m the real funny one around here.”
     
      “So, your name is Blue?” Lucas asked. “That’s cool.”
     
     “It’s a nickname.” Blue explained.
     
     “Oh. Cool.”
     
     “I’m Blaze.” The blonde haired boy said, extending his hand. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
     
     “That’s another nickname, right?” Lucas asked.
     
     “Yea.” Blue muttered, and then added: “He kind of gave it to himself.”
     
     “Hey. It’s a cool name.” Blaze said, defensively. “At least I’m not a colour.”
     
     “You’ve been saying that for like, two years. It’s gotten old.”
     
     “Yea? Well…you’re getting old.”
     
     “Brilliant comeback, Blazie.” Blue said, sarcastically. He turned to Skye: “Why do we hang out with him?”
     
     “It’s good to be charitable.” Skye grinned.
     
     “So you all live in the same building then?” Lucas asked after the introductions had been made.
     
     “Pretty much.” Blue shrugged. “Like I said, everyone seems to live there.”
     
     “You must have heard about the killings by now.” Skye said.
     
     “Yea. It’s a shame.” Lucas replied. “Did…er…you guys know them?”
     
     “I knew of them.” Blaze said. “I live on the second floor. But my mom worked with Mr. Roark.”
     
     “Wait…I thought they were called Geosep and Peters?”
     
     “Gee-OOO-seppy.” Becca corrected. “There was a third murder yesterday morning. Tobias Roark from the fifth floor. He was a resident for years. The first two were relatively new—maybe a year and a half? So it’s a bit of a shock that Roark died.”
   
     “Jess told me Roark was hanging from Tony’s balcony.” Blue added. “Without his head.”
     
     “Where’s the head gone?” Blaze asked.
     
     “Well, nobody knows, do they?” Skye replied.
     
     “I wonder who’s next.” Blue thought aloud.
     
     “What makes you think there will be more?”
   
     Blue shrugged. “There always is, isn’t there? In all the movies at least. Only we don’t have a bunch of teenagers getting chopped up.”
     
     “Yet.” Skye added.
     
     “Yet.” Blue agreed.
     
     “Way to make the new guy feel comfortable.” Becca said, shaking her head. “You trying to scare him?”
     
     “I’m not scared.” Lucas said, quickly. “I mean…stuff like that happens, right?”
     
     “Yea. In horror movies.” Blue replied. “Everybody remember the rules to surviving a horror movie?”
     
     “Don’t have sex. Don’t drink or do drugs. Never say ‘I’ll be back’.” Lucas recited.
     
     Everyone at the table looked mildly surprised. Lucas shrugged: “My cousin James loves Scream.”
     
     “Cool. They’re decent films.” Blue said. “Anyone, I think it’s safe to say that Blazie over here is safe.”
     
     “Hey!” Blaze snapped. “What’s that supposed to mean.”
     
     “Virgins always make it.” Skye answered.
     
     “And who said I’m a virgin?”
     
     Nobody answered him.
     
     “You know what? I don’t need this. I don’t need to be this group’s butt monkey.” Blaze rose to his feet and left the table.
     
     “You guys should go apologize.” Becca suggested. “You were a tad rude.”
     
     Blue and Skye shrugged. Lucas was slightly amused by this group. But he was still unsure if he really fit in with them. Blue looked to be about seventeen, and while Becca and Skye were roughly his age--give or take a year in Skye’s case—he didn’t have all that much in common. From the rest of the conversation the two girls proved to be very smart. Lucas got decent grades, but nothing compared to anyone at that table. He was more than just a bit intimidated.
     
     The bell rang, signalling the end of the lunch period. There were two more periods left until Lucas’ first day of school ended. And, so far, it hadn’t been completely humiliating. His next class was dramatic arts, which meant he would pretty much be doing nothing for the entire period. After that was phys. Ed.
     
     “I’ll walk you to drama.” Becca offered. “It’s my next class, too.”
     
     “Oh. Cool.” Lucas said. It seemed to be his catch phrase by this point.
     
     “Have you been in any plays at your old school?”
     
     “Nope.”
     
     “You should consider it.” Becca said. “It’s a great way to come out of your shell. It worked for me. I was in the school’s performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
     
     “Too bad I didn’t come here last year.” Lucas said. “I would have made a good Oompah Loompah.”
     
     Becca actually laughed at that. Lucas was quite proud of himself right then. He figured that Redford Vale High School wouldn’t be half bad after all.
     
     So long you don’t get killed somewhere down the line, he reminded himself.

[TobiasMasonPark]

                                                                                            V

Appearing:King Hyrule as Lucas Shaw
                  : Horsefan as Rebecca "Becca" Seely
                  : Crossoverfan as Christopher Leeds
                  : NewBlazingAngel as Nelson Angelo "Blaze" Pryor
                  : Empress Goose as James Mason

     The week had past rather quickly. Before Lucas knew it he was up late studying for the one class he had to actually do work in: history. In fact he was studying in a group now. He, Becca, Blaze, and another Finch resident by the name Christopher were huddled at a table at the public library. And for a town with two high schools, five different kinds of Churches, and a single mall, it was quite impressive library. Lucas wasn’t much for studying, but even he had to admit that the place was something neat.
   
     “So…What do we need to know about the Delaware crossing?” Christopher asked.
     
     “I imagine that we need to know it was crossed.” Lucas offered.
     
     “Have I told you that you’re a funny guy, yet?” Christopher replied.
     
     Lucas rather liked Christopher. They seemed to have a similar sense of humor. Lucas found that he could be quite humorous when there were people around to hear his jokes.
     
     “It’s not going to be on the test.” Becca said. “Don’t sweat it.”
     
     “I need to sweat it.” Christopher argued. “This test requires maximum sweatage. My dad is gonna beat me if I flunk history. Do you know how humiliating it is to tell your History Prof father that you’re failing History? He practically shoved the Delaware crossing down my throat growing up.”
     
     “I live down the hall from you.” Blaze said. “I never once saw your dad beat you.”
     
     “Not the point.” Christopher waved him away. “He’ll be stern either way.”
     
     “What time are you heading out?” Lucas asked Becca in a low voice.
     
     “What time are you heading out?” she said.
     
     “Whenever you leave.” Lucas replied. “You guys, I mean.”
     
     “What about us guys?” Christopher asked.
     
     “Huh? Nothing.” Lucas said quickly. “Now. What do we need to know about Delaware?”
     
     “We’ve been through this.” Blaze said, rubbing the bridge of his nose in annoyance. “Good God. We’re getting nothing done. The test is tomorrow morning. I’m going to go home to do some actual studying.”
     
     “Hang on a sec, what time is it?” Christopher asked.
     
     “Time for you to get a watch.” Blaze replied.
     
     “Time for you to get some social skills.” Christopher shot back. “Lucey, what time is it?”
     
     Lucas checked his cellphone.
     
     “Anyone else think it’s sad that we now use our phones to check the time?” Becca asked. “I know I do.”
     
     “Almost…ten.” Lucas said.
     
     “And here come the beatings.” Christopher sighed. “Well. I’d better get going too then. You two kids don’t do anything crazy, like make any babies.” He winked and followed Blaze out the library.
     
     Lucas blushed, while Becca just shook her head at the two boys.
     
     For a while Lucas and Becca sat in silence. “Maybe we’d better go with them.” Lucas suggested. “I’m sure my cousin’s bound to notice I’m late.”
     
     “Good point.” Becca said. “Let me just use the washroom.”
     
     She got to her feet and stretched. Lucas looked away, blushing some more. Becca put her arms down and walked towards the library exit. Lucas sighed and turned back to his book. He flipped back some pages, stopping at a portrait of Abraham Lincoln. He wondered if honest Abe was completely covered in hair.
     
     His odd thoughts were interrupted by a scream. A rather feminine scream.
     
     Lucas got to his feet and ran to the source of the noise. Along the way he bumped into someone.
     
     “Becca. You alright?”
     
     “Yea. Just fine. I thought I heard a scream.”
     
     “I figured it was you.”
     
     “I thought it was you, to be honest.” She said with a grin.
     
     “Funny. Should we…er…see if whoever it was is in any trouble?”
     
     “That would be the right thing to do, yes.”
     
     The two had hardly moved a foot when Christopher ran into the library through the front entrance in a panic. He was huffing and beads of sweat covered his brow.
     
     “Nelson was bit by something.”
     
     “Is he alright?” Lucas asked.
     
     “Yea. I think we scared off whatever it was.” Christopher said. “Quick. It might come back.”
     
     The three of them ran out of the library, and across the bend. There lay Blaze, lying in a heap, blood pouring from a hole in his jeans.
     
     “About bloody time.” He shouted.
     
     “Lucas, help me get him up, will ya?” Christopher said.
     
     Lucas and Christopher carefully took Blaze by the arms and slowly brought him to his feet. Naturally, having been bit in the leg, putting weight on his lower half resulted in a blood curdling scream.
     
     “That was you screaming?” Becca asked, astounded. “I thought it was a girl.”
     
     “Oh, excuse me!” Blaze spat. “For not having a more masculine scream. I was too busy screaming my head off over my bloody leg!”
   
     “Calm down, you’ll live.” Christopher said. “Let’s get you to a hospital.”
     
     The group hobbled their way up the road—save for Becca, who simply walked behind to make sure neither boy dropped Blaze. Blaze was torn between cursing, sobbing, moaning and shouting. He was wailing about how he figured they’d have to amputate his leg.
     
     “I’m gonna have to walk with a crutch.” He sobbed. “I’ll have to use one of those ramps the school has.”
     
     “Good God.” Christopher groaned. “I’m starting to think we should’ve let you get eaten.”
     
     “You’re an ass, you know that?” Blaze snapped. “Does anyone care that my leg is bleeding?!”
     
     Nobody answered him.
     
     They stopped.
     
     “What now?!” Blaze shouted.
     
     “I heard a noise.” Christopher and Lucas said at once.
     
     “Noise? What noise? Like…like a rabid dog sort of noise?”
     
     “Probably a raccoon in the bushes.” Becca suggested.
     
     “Great. I was probably bitten by a rabid raccoon.”
     
     “Shut up.” Christopher snapped. “Nobody said that.”
     
     “Don’t tell me to---“
     
     “Nelson. You realize that loud noises are likely to attract whatever’s crawling about, right?”
Becca told him, calmly.
     
     That shut Blaze right up. For the time being.
     
     The group walk onward, but more cautiously. They all kept an ear out for a sign of some animal or person walking around. They all hoped that it was not the latter.
     
     “I just realized something.” Blaze whimpered. “There’s a murderer walking around town.”
     
     Everyone thought on this. Suddenly the pace quickened.
     
     “We’re not too far away from the police station.” Christopher said. “We’ll be safe—“
     
     Something large jumped out from behind a parked car. Something massive and hairy. The foursome stopped dead in their tracks, staring at this beast. Blaze turned a sickly shade of pale and looked as though he would faint.
     
     The beast was, as mentioned previously, massive: a quadruped with two eyes, a large mouth filled with two rows of teeth, claws and a tail. It was covered from head to toe in fur. It looked like it could have been a werewolf, only it had yellow eyes and moss-green fur. It was drooling from the side of its mouth, and its tongue was hanging about, close to reaching its torso. It ****ed its head to the side, like a dog, and looked as though it was grinning.
     
     “We’re gonna die.” Blaze said.
     
     “Looks like it.” Lucas agreed. “You guys have any last words?”
     
     “I’d say run, but I’m afraid I’ll crap myself.” Christopher said.
     
     “We’re gonna die.” Blaze cried again. “And I’ll have been a virgin.”
     
     “That’s what you’re upset about?!” Becca snapped.
   
      Meanwhile, Lucas and Christopher had been thinking more or less the same thing.
     
     The creature snapped its jaws at the four kids. They instinctively, but slowly, backed up a few inches; yet they were far too scared to run.
     
     “It looks like it wants to play with us first.” Christopher said. “I don’t really like that.”
     
     “Agreed. Should we run for it then?”
   
     “I can’t run! My leg!”
   
      “Looks like you’ll die then.” Christopher said, harshly. “If you want to join us, we’ll be screaming our heads off.”
     
     Blaze looked back at the green swamp-like beast that was crouched before them. It was staring right up at him.
     
     “Count me in.”
     
     “Alright. On the count of three. One—Two—three!” Becca shouted.
     
     The group ran off in separate directions. Blaze cursed as the pain in his leg shot upward through his body. Pure adrenaline kept him going. Christopher had taken off behind the school and into the woods. Becca and Lucas stayed together until they broke off at a cross roads—one leading towards the hospital, the other leading to the high school. Ironically, Blaze was running in the opposite direction of where he ought to have gone.
     
     There were a few ways to get back to Finch apartments. Christopher, Becca and Blaze had all gone in that direction. Lucas, however, found himself heading towards an old shoe factory that had just recently gone out of business. He stopped suddenly. He panted for a bit. He looked around to see if he had been followed. Then, he proceeded into the factory.
     
     It was empty inside. All that was left were the obsolete machines used to make the shoes. It still smelled of old rubber. Cob webs had not yet set in, but the place had traces of dust, and a nice family of insects and rodents taking up residence here. Lucas jumped nearly twenty feet in the air as something touched his shoulder.
     
     “Relax, will you?” James snapped. “He’s in the basement.”
     
     “This place has a basement?” Lucas asked.
     
     “Yea. It’s good enough for now. He’s cranky though. He doesn’t like being caged like that.”
     
     “And we’re supposed to do what, set him loose on the town?”
     
     “Of course not.” James mumbled. “Why are you all sweaty?”
     
     “I was followed by something…” Lucas said, nervously. “Something big…and green…and…I don’t know what it was.”
     
     “Probably a demon.” James reasoned. He opened one of the doors on the main floor. It led down into the basement. Lucas could hear strangled noises and the sound of scraping metal from beneath.
     
     “I don’t wanna see him like that.” Lucas said. “It makes me wanna vomit every time.”
     
     “Yea. Me too. But what can we do? He’s family.”
     
     “Yea. We sure have a great family.” Lucas mumbled. “When is all of this going to be over?”
     
     “I told you. I’m working on it.” James said. “It shouldn’t be long. Just be patient. I’m so close to figuring this whole thing out.”
     
     “You keep saying that, and yet we’re still in this mess.”
     
     “Well, these things are complicated, bud.” James sighed. “Unfortunately, this is life.”
     
     Lucas scoffed at that. “Great. That’s what I wanna hear.”
   
      He sat himself down on the metal staircase. James joined him.
     
     “How was school?”
     
     “You don’t need to ask me that. You’re not my dad.”
     
     “I’m curious.” James said. “I need to know you aren’t getting into trouble.”
     
     “Things are fine.” Lucas sighed. “I made friends. School’s going well. Not that it matters. We’ll just have some reason to leave.”
     
     “Not if we get this thing figured out.” James said. “When we do I promise we’ll sit tight for a while. Things will be almost normal.”
     
     “We aren’t normal though, James.” Lucas said. “We’ll never be normal.”
     
     “Yea. Never normal.” James agreed. He took out a crumpled picture of a girl.
     
     “When are you gonna stop carrying that around?”
     
     “I can’t bring myself to do it.”
     
     “Well do it already. Get over her.”
     
     James sighed. “I wish I could. But you know it doesn’t work that way, bud.”
     
     “So I’m told.” Lucas mumbled. “I’m not gonna let it happen to me.”
     
     “What do you mean?”
     
     “Everything.” Lucas said. “I’m not going to turn into a monster. And I’m not gonna do something stupid like fall in love.”
     
     “Good luck.” James said with a sad smile. “In our family, you’ll need it.”

[Unknown User]

I haven't read all the chapters yet, but one was great! It was way better than I thought when I skimmed over it. Of course I loved two as well, how could I not. You nailed my sarcasm perfectly, and I love all the interaction. It's a nice change of pace from what I write, which is usually lacking in dialogue. This seems like a great story, and it isn't just the Buffy rip-off I'd thought it was. Way to go, buddy!

[TobiasMasonPark]

                                                                                      VI 

Appearing: Empress Goose as James Mason
                  : King Hyrule as Lucas Shaw
                  : DarkCyclone as Nicolas Shaw
                  : KitCloudKicker as Jess Shalner
                  : Frank as Frank
                  : Unknown User as Anthony Ville   

     When James Mason woke up that afternoon, he hadn’t been expecting a punch in the face.
     
     Being unemployed, Mason spent the day on the internet while Lucas attended school. Nicolas would often stay home with James, but gave up on hanging out with his cousin when it became clear that James spent most days doing some sort of work. So Nicolas settled for watching television all day. 
     
     This particular afternoon, however—a Friday—was different. James woke up around 9:00 a.m. to the sound of the doorbell ringing. He got up from his bed, stretched, and made his way to answer the door, wondering who would be home during the day. On the way to see what all the ringing was for, he noticed both of his cousins sitting on the sofa watching Phineas and Ferb cartoons.
     
     “Luc, what are you doing home?” James asked, more surprised than stern.
     
     “Couldn’t sleep after last night,” Lucas replied, not taking his eyes off the TV. “You’ll have to call the school.”
     
     The doorbell continued to ring, faster now.
     
     “I’m coming!” James shouted at the door. “This had better be important.”
     
     He turned the brass knob and pulled the wooden door back.
     
     “Oh. Jess. Listen, would you mind coming back later? I didn’t get---“
     
     WHAM! A punch to the face.
     
     James fell backwards, having been caught off balance, onto the hardwood floor. His skull only just missed the kitchen stove.
     
     “Please don’t take offense to this, but—what the hell, ****?!” James shouted, tending to what he believed must have been a broken nose.
     
     “Get up. I want to do it again.” Jess snarled. “It felt good.”
     
     “No, thanks.” James replied. “I’m good.”
     
     Suddenly two others appeared next to Jess: Frank and Anthony.
     
     “Woah, Jess. Way to wail on the new guy.” Tony applauded.
     
     “Can we be grownups about this?” Frank said, tiredly. He walked over to James and offered a hand.
     
     “You aren’t gonna hit me, are you?”
     
     “No. But you may want to stay clear from Jess.”
     
     “In case you haven’t noticed, Frank,” James began, “she’s the one who has trouble staying clear from me! Now someone please tell me what I’ve done to deserve a punch to the face at 9:00 in the morning!”
     
     “Jess is under the impression that you might be…er…summoning demons.”
     
     “That’s ridiculous!” James declared.
     
     “I know how it sounds. But…well, the thing about demons—“
     
     “No, I know about your little demon issues around here.” James interrupted. “But, trust me, I didn’t summon any. Though, I’m flattered that you think I’m magically inclined.”
     
     “He’s lying.” Jess growled. “I can sense it, Frank. I’ve been able to sense something was up with this kid since we were all at Tony’s investigating Roark’s body.”
   
     “Oh? And what, exactly, isn’t right about me?” James asked. “I’m curious to hear what you think.”
     
     “Nothing concrete…yet.” Jess said. “But there’s some sort of magic going on here.”
     
     “Well…in this general area.” Frank added. “See, we can’t pinpoint the source precisely.”
     
     “Frank, I’m handling this.” Jess snapped. “So. How about you quit summoning demons, and I’ll be sure to only hurt you a little.”
     
     “Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?!” James cried, still rubbing his nose—it had not been broken, as he believed. “Someone who doesn’t look like they’re one lady’s time away from going on a rampage.”
     
     “What did you say?!” Jess shouted, stepping towards her neighbour. Frank grabbed his girlfriend by the shoulders and struggled to hold her back. Tony was thoroughly amused. Lucas and Nicolas had long forgotten about Phineas and Ferb, and were now entirely drawn to the scene taking place in their kitchen.
     
     “Listen Frank, if you can’t keep her calm for a few minutes, I’m going to have to call Mike. Or maybe the cops.”
     
     “Ha!” Jess snorted, waving her boyfriend away. She crossed her arms and glared at James. “I’ve known Mike and the boys down at the station for years. You think they’ll take your side?”
     
     “What’s she going on about—who said anything about sides?” James asked, annoyed.
     
     “Fine. I’ll explain.” Jess snapped. “Your cousin and three other kids in this building were attacked last night.”
     
     “Attacked. By a demon, you mean.”
     
     “Yes, by a freaking demon!” She shouted. “Nelson Pryor was bitten in the leg. But I guess you didn’t think someone would eventually survive one of your demon’s attacks. Well, one of them did. And guess who gave me a little call this morning, telling me about the unusual nature of that bite.”
     
     “Are you finished, then?” James asked, calmly.
     
     “Frank. You’d better hold me back. I just might kill him.”
     
     “How about you three just sit down. I’ll make some coffee, and I’ll try and show you that I’m not the one behind all these killings. Fair enough?”
     
     “I don’t like coffee.” Tony said, with a slight edge to his voice. “Do you have tea, instead?” Then, with a grin, added: “If it’s not too much trouble.”
     
     James blinked. “Alright…Sure. Tea for Tony.”
     
     Jess, Frank and Tony sat at the coffee table in sitting room. Lucas and Nicolas moved over to the smaller couch, to make room for their guests. James arrived a few minutes later with three coups of coffee and Tony’s tea. James made sure to sit very, very far from Jess.
     
     “Alright. Now that I’ve tamed the wild girl, I’ll start with some questions.” James said. “What, exactly, makes you think that I’m the one responsible for all these attacks?”
     
     “For God’s sake, kid. You moved in two days after Giuseppe and Peters were slaughtered. Maybe, just maybe it wouldn’t have mattered if you moved into any other apartment but theirs. Then there’s this little situation you’ve got going here. Why are you taking care of two kids anyways? I mean, you’re practically a kid yourself. And where did you get the money to support these two?”
     
     “What has my living situation got to do with this demon of yours?”
     
     “It’s pretty damn suspicious.” She snapped. “Where are their parents?”
     
     “They’re…” James began.
     
     “They’re dead.” Lucas said, quietly. Nicolas, however, stormed out of the room. A moment later, a door had been slammed. Everyone, including Jess, was silenced. Eventually, she recovered from her embarrassment to speak again.
     
     “That’s tragic. I’m genuinely sorry about that. But that doesn’t change the fact that you aren’t a suitable guardian for these boys.”
     
     “Well. Unfortunately I’m all they’ve got.” James said, firmly.
     
     “That can’t be true.”
     
     “Well, it is.”
     
     “What about grandparents?” she asked.
     
     “Their dad’s parents are long gone.” James answered. “The ones I share with them on their mom’s side are living in Europe.”
     
     “Aunts then? Uncles? Cousins of a much older and more responsible age?”
     
     “Listen, this isn’t about my family situation—whatever you may think.” James replied. “Believe it or not—because I don’t care if you don’t—I’m all these two have at the moment. In a few weeks, you might not even have to deal with us. I’m sure that’ll make you happy.”
     
     “Well I won’t lie. It helps.” Jess grumbled.
     
     “As for the money, it’s not mine. It belongs to Nick and Luke. Law requires Nick to be 18 to be able to handle the money. Well, he’s not quite 18 yet, so the money is to be put into the hands of their guardian. I assure you, though,” James continued. “The money goes to Nick as soon as his birthday comes around.”
     
     “Fine. Let’s talk about the demon, then.” Jess said. “And this had better be good.”
     
     “I have no clue as to who summoned it.” James shrugged. “But it wasn’t me.”
     
     “And we’re supposed to take your word for it?”
     
     “I don’t expect you to, but it would make my mornings a lot easier.” James said. “You can believe what you’d like, but I don’t have a shred of magic in me. I’ll be honest, I’ve tried. A lot. Never to summon anything dangerous though. But it would appear as though I’m quite ordinary.”
     
     James frowned. He still seemed unable to please Jess.
     
     “For God’s sake, lady. My cousin was one of the four kids attacked. If I were summoning a demon, why the hell would I send it after one of my own? What could I possibly have to gain?”
     
     Jess struggled to find a logical answer. “Well…maybe you hadn’t counted on Lucas being with Becca and the others.”
     
     “You got that right,” James said. “I told him to come home right after school. He hadn’t called me before the attack. But I didn’t send that demon after him.”
     
     “Fine. That works. For now.” Jess said, getting to her feet. “But we’ll be watching pretty closely. That’s a promise. One wrong move and you’ll have Mike, Captain Teague, and the rest of us to deal with. More specifically, you’ll be dealing with me.”
     
     She stormed off. Frank quickly apologized for the fuss his girlfriend had caused, promising to buy James a coffee one morning. Tony hung back, grinning.
     
     “I really hope you aren’t behind this, buddy. You do not want to deal with Jess if you are. Now that kids have been involved, I think it’s safe to say that whoever did summon that demon is in major trouble. Ta ta.”
     
     James shut the door behind his last remaining guest. He took a deep breath and said to Lucas: “Go check on Nick; see if he’s alright. We’ll go out for breakfast in a bit.”
     
     “I’m sorry about your nose, James.” Lucas said.
   
     “Not your fault that woman is insane.” James replied, rubbing his nose, absent mindedly.
     
     “If we hadn’t hung back at the library, the demon probably wouldn’t have attacked. Then Jess wouldn’t have gotten paranoid and punched you out.”
     
     “Let’s forget she ever did that.” James said. “It’s not something I’d like to have broadcasted around town. Now go check on Nick. I’m gonna put ice on this.”
     
     Lucas nodded and ran off to fetch his brother. James waited until his cousin was completely out of sight before walking to his laptop. He punched in his password and logged on to the internet. He entered the address he needed into the search engine—an online forum; the very one Lucas said he caught James looking at a few days earlier.
     
     He entered the chat room. One user was online.
     
     He switched over to a private chat room and began typing.

Chimaera: Difficulty on the Redford front. Don’t know how long I can do this before someone stumbles upon my little project.

MetaWizard: You could always sic your werewolf on them.

Chimaera: I’m being serious right now. You’re going to have to come down here. Soon.

MetaWizard: I figured you’d need me eventually. You were bound to screw it up.
                     : I’ll be there before the week lets out.
                     : I expect there will be room on the couch for me?

Chimaera: Whatever you want, Meta. Just hurry over here.

     

[TobiasMasonPark]

                                                                                    VII

Appearing: Esplin 9466 as Captain Russell Teague
                  : Broken as Cody Duchamp

     Captain Russell Teague and First Officer Cody Duchamp sat in their police cruiser, just down the street from the Finch Building. It was just the two of them and a couple cups of coffee, sitting there, in the middle of the night, waiting for a demon of all things. Neither one had seen a demon before, but they had heard stories. They lived in Modtropolis, and they were part of the Modtropolis Police Department; which meant that they had to cover up a lot of the craziness that had taken place there. Captain Teague had been a part of the force for some time now, but he had not always been so accepting of the supernatural. No. When he began as a rookie, he had been a staunch atheist and materialist: nothing else existed out there; nothing that couldn’t be seen. Cody, however, wasn’t as skeptical.
     
     “Hey, Teague?” Cody said. “How long have you been working for the force?”
     
     “Ten years. You know that.” Russell replied, staring out at the street that lay ahead.
     
     “I know. It’s just that, without the radio on, and what with this whole eerie silence, I figured I’d start a conversation.”
     
     “I told you, Cody,” Russell sighed. “We can’t have anything give away our position. We want to sneak up on this thing.”
     
     “This is a demon. We aren’t dealing with a cat burglar.” Cody reminded his superior.
     
     “No music, Duchamp.” Russell said, firmly.
     
     “Well, don’t expect me to just sit here all night twiddlin’ my thumbs. I’m gonna do some talkin’ even if you don’t.” He added: “Sir.”
     
     “Fine by me.” Russell replied.
     
     The two continued to sit in silence. Teague took a sip of his coffee—lukewarm. His mind was busy with thoughts of demons. He didn’t know what to expect, really. Becca Seely and the boys who encountered the demon a few nights before gave a helpful description, but he couldn’t rely on the memory of children if he expected to survive this investigation. He sighed to himself. One day, he vowed, I’ll move to an ordinary city.
     
     “How long we been working together, Codes?” Russell asked, surprising his partner.
     
     “Er…two and a half years this December.”
     
     Russell smiled slightly. “Still a rookie.”
     
     “Yea.” Cody mumbled. “Tell me, when exactly did you turn into the old stiff that I work with?”
     
     “I can’t even remember.” Russell answered. “You stick around the same place for long enough and the days just meld together.”
     
     “You’d think a job like this would still be interesting after a decade.”
     
     “You’d think so. But after ten years of weird, your definition of interesting becomes ordinary. It all becomes routine, Codes. Cover up after cover up. You start doing your job well and you start to wonder if, maybe, it’s time to move on to something else.”
     
     “That’s pretty profound, Teague.” Cody said. “Honestly.”
     
     “I’m glad you think so. I thought that gem up nine years ago.”
     
     The two shared a laugh that lasted much longer than it should. Laughter fuelled by boredom. Then Russell caught something in his rear view mirror—a man.
     
     “Duchamp,” he said. “We’ve got a wanderer.”
     
     “Demon?” Cody said, slightly on edge.
     
     “If it were a demon wouldn’t I have said demon?” Russell said, tightly. “It’s just a civilian.”
     
     “Er…should we, y’know, call it in?”
     
     “No. It’s just a man. But I’d better tell him to skedaddle.”
     
     Teague got out of the police cruiser and waved to the stranger in the dark. The man was a bit further away than the mirror let on. He shouted: “Uh, sir. You might want to head on home. We have a shady character running around. It’s best for you to get somewhere safe.”
     
     No response. The man was either hard of hearing or deaf.
     
     Teague walked towards the man, waving his arm some more. “Sir. I said it would be best to get home. There have been some suspicious killings in the area. We wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”
     
     The figure stopped in his tracks and began fumbling with his pockets. He took something out—something small. Teague’s hand ran instinctively to his side, preparing to pull out his revolver. Soon, however, it became apparent that the civilian had pulled out a lighter. He lit a cigarette. Teague himself could have used one.
     
     “Sir. As an officer of the law, your safety is my priority. So, I’d advise…”
     
     “My safety?” The man said with a cold laugh. His voice was vaguely familiar. “If you were looking out for my safety, I wouldn’t have lost my head.”
     
     “Sorry?” Teague replied. “I didn’t quite catch that. “
     
     The man stepped closer.
     
     “If you had been doing your job, maybe I’d still be alive.” The man said. “How’s it going, Russ?”
     
     Soon it became clear who this man was.
   
     “Holy…Roark, is that you?”
     
     “More or less.” Tobias Roark said with a grin. “No thanks to you, it’s more than less. You have no idea what they were doing with my head.”
     
     “But you’re dead.” Teague said, lamely.
     
     “Well. If that’s true, then I couldn’t be talking to you, could I?”
     
     “No. You couldn’t.”
     
     “Hey, Russ. What’s the hold up?” Cody shouted. He had come out of the cruiser. “Russ?”
     
     “My God, Roark…What the hell happened to you?”
     
     “I’ve been awaken, that’s what.” Roark replied. “The entire time I was alive I was blind. I was trapped. I was limited to a tiny existence, where no one gave a rat’s ass about whether I lived or died. Well, I did the first part for so long, I guess I got a bit used to the second.”
     
     Cody had reached the two men. His jaw dropped at the sight of the seemingly alive Tobias Roark.
     
     “Sweet mother of God.” Cody gasped. “Is that Roark.”
     
     “Seems like it.” Teague confirmed. “I swear…I don’t believe it.”
     
     “You know, I cried as that demon ripped into my flesh.” Roark continued, stepping closer. “Cried like a baby. But then the pain stopped. Suddenly, everything wasn’t so scary. Then, I woke up in some dark room...A cave. I was alive. Only this time, I wasn’t limited by anything anymore.” He tossed his cigarette onto the street. “I can smoke without putting my body in any danger. And I’m so much stronger now.”
     
     He moved towards Teague and Duchamp.
     
     Teague pulled out his revolver and shot at Roark. The creature stumbled.
     
     “Can’t kill what’s already dead, Russ.” Roark said, amused. “I got no heart!”
     
     “What do we do?” Cody whispered to his captain.
     
     “Shoot.” Teague growled.
     
     The two men opened fire on Tobias Roark, all the while backing up towards their police cruiser. Their bullets appeared to be making some impact, but Roark looked as though he was only being mildly inconvenienced.
     
     “Aim for the head!” Teague barked.
     
     A bullet made contact with Roark’s skull. Roark’s body collapsed.
     
     “In every movie I’ve seen, whenever the monster looked dead, it wasn’t.” Cody panted. “I suggest we get running.”
     
     “We’re cops. We’re here to protect and serve. Cops don’t run.”
     
     “And corpses don’t walk around the bloody streets!” Cody snapped.
     
     “Good point.”
   
      The two men turned heel and ran. As they should have, because the corpse of Tobias Roark started to stir, having only been temporarily put out of commission.
     
     “The cruiser!” Cody shouted.
     
     “Stuff it. We need back up.” Teague shouted back.
     
     “So let’s call it in!”
     
     “No. Not cops. Not guns. Won’t work.” Teague replied.
     
     “Let me guess. We’re going to Finch?”
     
     “Yup.”
     
     “We gonna see Jess?”
     
     “Yessir.”
     
     “Magic?”
     
     “Magic.”

[TobiasMasonPark]

                                                                                     VIII

Appearing: KitCloudKicker as Jess Shalner
                  : Esplin 9466 as Captain Russell Teague
                  : Broken as Cody Duchamp
                  : Empress Goose as James Mason

     Jess Shalner was not much of a morning person. Throughout the day she could be more or less pleasant.
     
     At 3:00 in the morning, she was enraged.
     
     “Dammit, Russell. This had better---hey, I didn’t say come in!”
     
     “Barricade the doors, Duchamp.” Teague shouted to his partner.
     
     “Yessir.” Cody complied. He shut the door and turned the lock; then he began to push one of the three leather couches that Jess and Frank had in their sitting room towards the door.
     
     “I’m guessing you found the demon.” Jess said, irritated. “Well locks and a couch aren’t going to keep it out.”
     
     “Not a demon,” Cody said, breathlessly. “Zombie.”
     
     “What do you mean, zombie?” Jess demanded. “Like…arrrrgh?”
     
     “It’s Roark.” Teague said. “Tobias Roark. He…well, he’s not dead anymore.”
     
     “And he’s not your typical zombie.” Cody said. “He speaks like the old Tobias. And he walks at an above-average pace. Y’know, for a zombie.”
     
     “Well we’re fine.” Jess said. “Hardly a reason to wake me up at 3:00 a.m.”
     
     “He can take a bullet, Jess.” Teague snapped. “Dozens of them. We’ve tried.”
     
     “Of course he can. Zombies are reanimated corpses. Their souls are called back to the earth with a spell—a very powerful spell—and they’re invulnerable to damn near everything, so long as its heart remains unharmed. Until it’s destroyed, it’s a walking-talking super-zombie.”
     
     “And that’s something to be calm about?” Teague shouted.
     
     “It can’t get in.” Jess said. “As long as the barrier Mike and I set up holds, no demon can get in.” Then she added: “I’m almost 100% sure that includes zombies, too.”
     
     “Almost?!” Russell and Cody shouted.
     
     “No worries. I know how to fix this.” Jess said, pulling the couch aside and unlocking the door.
     
     She entered the hallway, followed by Teague and Cody. They were soon standing outside apartment 4D. Jess knocked the door rapidly.
     
     The door opened, revealing a yawning James Mason in his shirt and pyjama bottoms. His eyes went wide as he saw who was at the door.
     
     “Oh no. Not again!” he moaned.
     
     James prepared to slam the door, but was thrown back across the room by some force.
     
     Jess entered the house, uninvited.
     
     “This is technically breaking and entering!” James shouted. “Even if it was by…magic…”
     
     “Tell it to your zombie.” Jess snapped. “Where’s the heart?”
     
     “My what?” James blinked.
     
     Jess waved her hand at James, propelling him into the air.
     
     “Would either of you mind restraining her?!” James snapped at Russell and Cody. “And, while you’re at it, anyone want to tell me what the hell that is?!”
     
     Jess, Teague, and Cody turned to see Tobias Roark, standing in the threshold of James’ apartment.
     
     “Oh. Don’t mind me. I’m just checking out the old neighbourhood.”
     
     “Oh my…” Jess gasped. James fell to the floor with a groan.
     
     “The place looks nice.” Roark said, entering the apartment. “Not as nice as when Giuseppe and Peters kept it. But it doesn’t matter. They’re both dead. For now.”
     
     “How did you come back?” Jess demanded. “Who brought you back?”
     
     “Jess. Did I mention that it’s nice to see you?” Tobias said, smiling. He then grabbed her by the shoulders and tossed her over to where James lay. “Because it’s not.”
     
     “Stand back, Roark.” Teague ordered.
     
     “Your guns don’t work on me. But I’m sure the witch told you as much.”
     
     Jess got to her feet. She blew the hair out of her face and growled: “Don’t call me a witch.”
     
     Roark’s body flew back into the hallway and slammed into the door of 4B. Jess walked out into the hallway to where the zombie lay. Both of her hands were suddenly engulfed in flame; she pressed them against Roark’s cold, dead flesh. He shrieked in pain as the skin around his face began to melt, appearing as if it were wax.
     
     Roark once again took Jess by the shoulders; only this time he drove Jess into the wall of James’ apartment—leaving a very large hole. The force of the collision knocked Jess out of Roark’s reach. Tobias got to his feet and furiously began to kick Jess.
     
     “Anyone ever tell you that you’re a ****?” He snapped.
     
     “Yea. Me!”
     
     James Mason decked the zombified Tobias Roark, knocking the beast off his feet. The two crashed into the kitchen and onto the table, forcing it to collapse. James grabbed one of the chair’s legs and started to beat Roark with it.
     
     “You know, you’re lucky you’re dead, buddy! Otherwise you’d be paying for the wall. And the table!”
     
     Roark grabbed James’ arm mid-strike. With his free arm he punched James square in the jaw. James rolled onto the floor, dropping the chair leg he had been using as a club.
     
     “And you’re lucky I’m not here for you, kid.” Roark snapped. “Otherwise, I’d see to it that yours is the body hanging from a balcony.”
     
     “You shouldn’t be here at all, Tobias.”
     
     Mike Phoenix entered the wrecked apartment. Surrounding him were dancing flames.
     
     “Mikey!” Tobias said with faux-enthusiasm. “I haven’t seen you since I had been decapitated!”
     
     “I’m sorry for your death, Tobias. Sincerely.”
     
     “And I sincerely believe you.” Roark nodded. “You’d be the only one.”
     
     “It doesn’t have to be this way.”
     
     “No. But it’s a lot more fun.” Roark grinned. “Since I’ve been dead, I’ve learned how to have lots, and lots of fun.”
     
     “You won’t win in a fight. Not with me and Jess here.”
     
     “Probably not.” Roark agreed. “Perhaps another time. But, Mike, it’s been a pleasure seeing you.”
     
     “I can’t have you walking around Redford, Tobias.” Mike said. “You understand that, right? I will have to kill you.”
     
     “Don’t worry, you won’t. See, things are changing. I’m just a glimpse of what’s to come. Take that as a warning from an old friend.”
     
     “You aren’t going to leave this building alive.” Mike said.
     
     Tobias pulled something out of his pocket—the very same clothes he would have been buried in. He revealed the object to be a small, glass orb, with what looked like swirling gold dust inside. “We’ll see about that, Mikey.” Roark taunted.
     
     And with that, Tobias Roark was engulfed in the golden substance that swirled inside the orb. The dust flew past Mike, into the hall, and out of sight. By the time Mike had gathered his wits and started to follow it, Tobias Roark—whatever he was now—had disappeared.

[TobiasMasonPark]

                                                                                         IX

Appearing: Empress Goose as James Mason
                  : KitCloudKicker as Jess Shalner
                  : Frank as Frank
                  : Unknown User as Anthony Ville
                  : Avatar Blue as "Blue"
                  : Horsefan1023 as Rebecca "Becca" Seely
                  : Tinkles as Skye
                  : King Hyrule as Lucas Shaw
                  : Dark Cyclone as Nicolas Shaw
     
     Early the next morning—a Monday—James sat on his couch, staring at the television in front of him. He held a blue ice pack up to his temple in hopes that the bruise he had received from the previous evening’s excitement would swell down. Next to him was Jess, also with icepack in hand, and Tony. Frank was also at the apartment, helping James around with the cleaning. He also served coffee and tea.
     
     “It’s the least I can do.” Frank told James. “I mean, after Jess…”
     
     His girlfriend scowled.
     
     “After all that happened last night, I mean.” Frank finished quickly.
     
     “I thought we agreed,” James said. “Last night never happened.” He turned his head to face the large hole in the wall of his apartment, where a young boy and his mother were looking in. “Hi, how ya doing.”
     
     James looked up at the clock above his television. “Nearly 8:00 a.m. I’d better wake Lucas up for school.” He struggled to get to his feet and turned the corner into a small hallway. He knocked on the door to Lucas’ room. “Luc, wake up, buddy.”
     
     Lucas groaned in response.
     
     James hobbled back to the couch and reclaimed his seat beside Jess.
     
     “We will have to talk about last night eventually.” Frank said quietly. “We have a powerful warlock summoning demons and raising the dead. We have no clue as to why.”
     
     “Couldn’t he just be a psycho?” Tony suggested.
     
     “He could be. But I doubt it.” Frank replied.
     
     “No. Whoever’s doing this has a plan.” Jess said. “Summoning demons is one thing; reanimating the dead…that’s ten times more difficult. It also drains the witch or warlock doing it. No one would risk it over some joy killings.”
     
     “So, you’ve finally come to the conclusion that I’m not the one doing any of this?”
     
     “She probably figured you wouldn’t tear apart your own apartment.” Tony said.
     
     “No.” Jess scowled. “Reanimated corpses can’t harm their masters. It has something to do with the magic, it binds the two together. If James was behind this, hurting him would destroy the zombie. Besides,” she said, looking at James. “It doesn’t mean that he isn’t the one summoning demons.”
     
     The group was suddenly interrupted by three kids standing outside James’ hole.
     
     “What the hell happened here?” The boy asked. “Looks like there was a stampede.”
     
     “I wish.” James mumbled. “Stupid zombie.”
     
     “Sorry to interrupt.” One of the girls said. “Is Luc up yet?”
     
     “He should be….Luc! Your friends are here!”
     
     The door flew open, and Lucas emerged from his room, fully dressed. “Yea. Ready. Let’s go.”
     
     “Your room’s a mess isn’t it?”
     
     “What? No.” Lucas lied.
     
     “Clean it up once you’re done school. I don’t need things crawling out from your room.”
     
     “Yea. Sure. After school. No problem. Bye.”
     
     “I’m serious, Luc.”
     
     “I know. Trust me. See ya.”
     
     Lucas followed his friends Blue, Becca and Skye out into the hallway. Those still inside the apartment could hear Blue ask: “What the hell happened to your house?”
     
     “Jeez. I’ve never seen him so excited for school.” James said, shaking his head.
     
     “Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it?” Tony laughed.
     
     “How do you mean?”
     
     “The kid’s in love.”
     
     “What? No. He’s too young.”
     
     “Did you see how fast he ran out the door once Becca Seely asked about him?” Tony replied.
     
     “So?”
     
     “You were in high school not too long ago.” Tony insisted. “What’s the big deal? The kid’s in love.”
     
     “No. He can’t be in love.” James snapped. “No way.”
     
     “Well then, he likes her.” Tony shrugged. “But one tends to lead to the other. You can’t stand in the way of love, man.”
     
     James snorted. “I can try.”
     
     “What’s your problem?” Jess mumbled.
     
     “Nothing.”
     
     “Then keep your voice down. You’re giving me a headache.”
     
     “He has something against love.” Tony said. “You can try all you’d like, but you won’t be able to stop him; especially if Becca feels the same way. If you forbid them from seeing each other…Well, you’ve probably seen Titanic.”
     
     “Tony is…right.” Frank said, almost amazed. “The more you fight it, the more he’ll want to be with Becca.”
     
     “Listen. Thanks for your helpful suggestions and all, but the kid’s my cousin.” James got to his feet. “I’ll be doing the kid a favour. All girls do is give you trouble.”
     
     “Someone’s got baggage.” Tony sang.
     
     “Stuff it.” James mumbled, walking towards the kitchen for a second cup of coffee.
     
     “As a woman, I’m offended.”
     
     “Yes. Because the entire time I’ve known you—a woman—I’ve had nothing but pleasant mornings. And a black eye and a hole in the wall.”
     
     “Hey, easy there, James.” Frank said calmly.
     
     “You’re going to tell me that she hasn’t caused you the slightest bit of pain?” James snapped. “She’s perfect, then? How about any other woman you’ve dated?”
     
     “Yea. Fine. I’ve had some not so good experiences.” Frank admitted. “But I don’t let any of my bad past relationships affect the person I am. I don’t let them turn me into a bitter little man.”
     
     “This isn’t about bad break ups.” James said, hotly. “This is about pain. I’m talking about the sort of pain that doesn’t stop hurting, no matter how much you’d like it to stop. When you practically give a girl everything you can, and she treats you like dirt. Worse than dirt.”
     
     “I’m sorry you had some bad experiences.” Frank said, sincerely. “But that gives you no right to insult Jess.”
     
     “Yea. Tell that to my wall.” James snorted. “I’m just looking out for my cousin, alright? It may be too late for me. But I won’t let him end up the same way. Think of that how you will.”
     
     “Fine then. Jess, we’d better get going.” Frank said, tersely.
     
     Jess and Tony both got to their feet to follow Frank outside the hole.
     
     “Sorry about your wall.” Frank grumbled.
     
     A moment later Nicolas walked out of his bedroom. Between yawns he wished his cousin a good morning. James filled the kettle with some more water.
     
     “You haven’t told them about the curse?” Nicolas asked from his couch.
     
     “No. It’s none of their business.”
     
     “It might get her off your back, you know.” Nicolas suggested. “Maybe if you told them about our family, Jess would ease up.”
     
     “Not likely.” James scoffed. “She’d probably have our entire family hunted down and killed. Not that she’d have much work to do. Not many of us left now.”
     
     Nicolas fell silent.
     
     James sighed. “That’s not what I meant. That was different.”
     
     “Sure.” Nicolas said, quietly.
     
     “I’m making tea. Did you want some?”
     
     “No. I’ll take coffee, though.”
     
     “No. It’s not a good idea. You know it makes you anxious.”
     
     “Fine.” Nicolas groaned.
     
     “You like tea. Besides, it’s healthier than coffee.”
     
     A moment later the kettle whistled. James poured the boiling water into a white mug. He set a tea bag into it to steep. He added some honey and sugar, as well as dried, crumpled up purple leaves. And as he stirred the mixture he whispered a few words—the few words he knew it Latin. He dropped the last purple leaf and the tea turned a nice red.
     
     “Here ya go, bud.” James said, handing Nicolas the steaming mug.
     
     Nicolas took a sip. “Tastes good. Honey?”
     
     “Yup. Makes it go down easier.”

[Pyrrhian]

Zombie but not zombie limited! Noooooooooo! This is one interesting series! Just read from the beginning. I also love the character interactions, they seem real! Not that I know people here that well.

[TobiasMasonPark]

                                                                          X
Appearing: King Hyrule as Lucas Shaw
                  : Crossoverfan as Christopher Leeds
                  : Horsefan1023 as Rebecca "Becca" Seely
                  : Avatar Blue as "Blue"
                  : Tinkles as Skye
                  : DarkCyclone as Nicolas Shaw

     
     Lucas hated performing.
     
     He hated public speaking, and he hated reading out loud in class. But he especially hated performing. And he wasn’t unaware of the contradiction; he took dramatic arts. But he took dramatic arts as a means to satisfy the mandatory credit. That, and tenth grade dramatic arts was something of a joke. All the kids did all day was watch movies, with the odd scene to perform every few months.
     
     English became Lucas’ least favourite class, because they would be performing—not reading—Romeo and Juliet. Their teacher, Ms. Anderson, figured it would help boost the kids’ self-esteem a bit; make them more comfortable with speaking in general. There were at least twenty-five students in the class, and not enough roles to go around. So, the class was split into two groups: A and B, alternating every week. The fact that Lucas was put into group B was a small mercy.
     
     Unfortunately, group B was the first group to perform.
     
     Rebecca Seely was cast as Juliet.
     
     Lucas figured that performing Romeo and Juliet in front of half the class wouldn’t be half as bad if, maybe, he was given the role of Romeo. That role, however, went to Nelson Angelo Pryor, on the grounds that “he had more experience in theatre.” Lucas and Christopher both felt that Nelson only got the role because Ms. Anderson felt sorry for him—specifically his recovering leg wound.
     
     So Nelson got to be Romeo.
     
     That didn’t bother Lucas. He would’ve been fine playing Mercutio, or Benvolio, or even Tybalt. 
     
     Instead he was cast as the Nurse.
     
     “Why did she make you the Nurse?” Skye asked over the loud sound of Blue’s laughter.
     
     “She…er…well, there weren’t enough girls in the class.” Christopher said, stifling a grin.
     
     “This is so stupid.” Lucas grumbled, picking at his food at their usual table in the cafeteria. “We shouldn’t have to perform the freaking play. We aren’t even doing that in drama.”
     
     “Is she making you guys dress up?” Blue asked, still laughing. “I hope so. I think I’ll skip calc. just to see Lucas in a dress.”
     
     “That might say more about you than it does him.” Christopher retorted, coming to his best friend’s defense.
     
     “And what role did you get?” Sky asked.
     
     “I’m the Friar.” Christopher said, guilty.
     
     “So, you’re performing the play? Like…sword fighting, kissing?” Blue asked.
     
     “Er…” Becca, Christopher and Lucas exchanged looks.
     
     “We didn’t really ask…Maybe Blaze knows.” Christopher said.
     
     “I surely hope we don’t actually have to perform it.” Becca said. “I don’t wanna kiss Blaze.” Lucas’ mood lifted significantly at that.
     
     Christopher chuckled. “Poor Nelson.”
     
     “That’s not what I meant!” Becca replied. “It’s just…Blaze is my friend. We don’t…”
     
     “There’s no way I’d let a guy who calls himself Blaze date our Seely.”
     
     “Yes. Because Blue is much cooler than Blaze.” Christopher replied.
     
     “Yes. Yes it is. Much cooler.”
     
     “What are you guys doing after school?” Becca asked. “I was thinking we’d all hang out for a bit.”
     
     “I’ve got to study for a calc. test.” Blue replied. “If I weren’t graduating, I’d just blow it off.”
     
     “I’ve got a test tomorrow as well.” Skye frowned. “Stupid calc.”
     
     “Why are you taking calculus again?” Christopher asked.
     
     “I’m taking A.P classes. And I’m ahead in a few English classes.”
     
     “Skye’s our group’s genius.” Blue said.
     
     “I thought Seely was.” Lucas replied.
     
     “Apparently we’re friends with the smarties.” Christopher winked at Lucas. “We should be handing them their lunch trays, Luc. We should be washing their feet every lunch period. We are mere serfs under these lords.”
     
     Becca was amazed. “I didn’t think you were paying attention in history. Good on you, Chris.”
     
     “We can hang out at my place.” Lucas offered.
     
     “What about the giant hole in your apartment?”
     
     “I doubt he noticed that.” Blue smirked. “You know. He was preoccupied.”
     
     “Preoccupied with what?” Becca asked.
     
     Christopher and Blue shared a laugh. Lucas hung his head, hoping Becca wouldn’t see his cheeks turning red.
     
     The bell rang for fourth period. Lucas and Becca trudged off to dramatic arts, where they sat in the dark watching the Breakfast Club—a film Lucas rather enjoyed, but had grown tired of after having watched it so many times with his cousin James. There had been an upside, however. Becca had nodded off and rested her head on Lucas’ shoulder; and this sparked the conversation that took up the majority of his gym class one period afterwards.
     
     “You know, I have this theory.” Christopher said between breaths.
     
     He and Lucas were jogging around the track outside Redford Vale high school. The unit was track and field, which had always been scheduled at the beginning of the semester, before the winter cold set in. Side by side they jogged.
     
     “Coach Kirken was a Nazi.”
     
     “A Nazi?” Lucas repeated. “You know, he isn’t German. He’s not even old enough to have been a Nazi.” 
     
     “Well. He could be one of those, you know, Neo-Nazis.” Christopher reasoned. “I mean, he has the blonde hair—“
     
     “It’s a dye job. He said so.”
     
     “—And the blue eyes.”
     
     “You’ve looked at his eyes?”
     
     “What? No. No, not at all.”
     
     “You’ve got it bad for the coach.” Lucas grinned.
     
     “Not as bad as you’ve got it for Becca.”
     
     “Shut up.” Lucas said, smirking. “We’re just buds.”
     
     “Nobody but Becca thinks that.” Christopher replied.
     
     Lucas suddenly stopped. Christopher did the same.
     
     “So you don’t think she likes me?”
     
     “I don’t know, Luc.” Christopher shrugged. “She’s oblivious to the fact that you like her. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t like you back.”
     
     “Shaw, Leeds!” Kirken shouted. “What are you two doing? Get running!”
     
     The two resumed their jog, keeping up a steady pace. “So…are you planning on…doing anything?” Christopher asked.
     
     “Er…Like make a move?”
     
     “Yea.”
     
     “Would she be against that?”
     
     “Luc. Have you not kissed a girl before?”
     
     “Who? Me? Yea.”
     
     “How many?” Christopher asked, smirking.
     
     “Er…One. Last summer. A girl in my class.”
     
     “Uh huh. Which class?”
     
     “Mmmmmath.” Lucas answered. He was quite aware of how obvious the lie was. He just hoped Christopher, being his best friend, wouldn’t hold it against him.
     
     “Well, Seely is a special kind of girl, buddy. She’s not fast like a lot of Redford girls.”
     
     “Redford girls are fast?” Lucas asked.
     
     “Well…from what I’ve heard. You know, in the locker room. But that’s beside the point.”
     
     “Which is?”
     
     “If you plan on doing something—like kissing her—try not to scare her. Don’t get all…touchy feely. She’s a classy girl. One wrong move and you’re a dead man... She can handle herself, is what I’m trying to say.”
     
     “I guess I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”
     
     After the period ended, and after a long and thorough shower, Lucas and Christopher met up with Skye, Becca and Blue at the front of the school. They made the fifteen minute walk home, where the parted ways at the fourth floor. Blue and Skye had to study.
     
     “Hey, the hole’s gone!” Becca remarked.
     
     “Your cousin must be quite the carpenter.” Christopher told Lucas. “You would never be able to tell there ever was a hole.”
     
     “Not likely. He must have hired someone.” Lucas said, unlocking the apartment door.
     
     “Even then, it would take at least two days…And they wouldn’t be able to make it look this good.” Christopher said, amazed.
     
     They entered the apartment, finding Nicolas on the couch, fully dressed and watching cartoons.
     
     “Where’s James?” Lucas asked, throwing his bag onto the floor by the kitchen stove.
     
     “What? Oh…he went with that Frank guy for a drink at some bar.”
     
     “Ah. So the house is empty then?” Christopher grinned. “Sounds like the premise to a party.”
     
     “And who would we invite?” Becca asked. “Everyone we know already lives in this building.”
     
     “Fine. But we still can’t pass up this opportunity. Teenagers in a house. All alone. We have to have some kind of fun.”
     
     “He’s got a point.” Lucas shrugged. “I mean…My cousin’s in the house all the time. We could have a couple other people here, eat some food, and watch some movies. Just, you know, have fun.”
     
     “My man! It’s settled. You two get things started here,” Christopher said, excitedly. “Nick, why don’t you and I get some snacks? I’ve got a twenty in my pocket. I figure that’ll be enough?”
     
     “James isn’t going to like this.” Nicolas grumbled.
     
     “He doesn’t have to know.” Christopher replied. “Besides, you can use whatever money’s left to buy whatever you’d like.”
     
     Nicolas considered this. “Alright, let’s go.”
     
     “Yes. Cool. Alright. Let’s get this party started, boys and girls…Girl.”
     

[TobiasMasonPark]

                                                                                        XI
Appearing: Empress Goose as James Mason
                  : DarkCyclone as Nicolas Shaw
                  : Frank as Frank
                  : Terenia [Teach] as Jessi Anderson
                  : Myitt as Maia Flint

     At the same time Lucas had been watching the Breakfast Club, James was standing in front of the pile of rubble that had once been a wall in his home. He frowned at it, took a sip of coffee, and continued to stare. He called a contractor earlier in the day, but no one would be available until the following afternoon. He told the contractor, rather angrily, to stuff himself and hung up the phone.
     
     Down the hall, the door to 4J opened. Out came Frank, who shut the door behind him and made his way towards apartment 4D. He stood outside the hole and nodded at James, who tipped his mug back in response.
     
     “I think I’ve finally calmed Jess down.” Frank said. “She took a pain killer. Should put her to sleep for a few hours.”
     
     “I doubt it.” James mumbled, taking a sip of his coffee.
     
     Frank ignored this response. “Listen. I really am sorry for all the trouble we’ve been giving you. I want to make it up to you. Let’s say you and I go for a drink.”
     
     “I would love to.” James said. “But I kind of need to attend to this hole here.”
     
     “Not a problem. Just…stand back.”
     
     James did so. Frank suddenly became focused. James watched his neighbour, taking another sip of his coffee. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a pile of rubble floating in midair—this was followed by a few others. Soon the rubble started to assemble itself; like a puzzle the pieces put themselves into place. Eventually a complete wall stood before James.
     
     “Cool!” Nicolas said, excitedly. “I’ve got to learn how to do that.”
     
     The apartment door opened. Frank stood in the threshold, smiling. “I’m not as fast as Jess,” He admitted. “But you’ve got yourself a wall.”
     
     “Thanks.” James said, obviously amazed. “Er…I guess I owe you a drink then. Let me just get my jacket.”
     
     A moment later James returned wearing his leather jacket. He told his cousin that he’d be down at the bar with Frank, and to call his cell phone if he needed anything. Then he walked out into the hall with Frank. He locked the apartment door, and the two men walked onward. They walked in silence.
     
     After walking out of the elevator James decided he couldn’t take the quiet. “So, which bar are we going to?”
     
     “Galaxy’s Edge.” Frank answered. “It’s owned by Jessi Anderson, who lives a few floors above us. It’s a great bar and a nice hang out for pretty much all the adults at Finch. It’s great. You’ll love it.”
     
     “I don’t know. Few of the tenants seem to like me.” James muttered.
     
     “They’re just on edge.” Frank assured James. “We don’t often have murders going on in town. If you can believe that.”
     
     They shared a laugh, and resumed to walking in silence. The Galaxy’s Edge Bar was a few blocks away from the building, in a mini-plaza near the McDonalds and the Starbucks.
     
     “Brilliant location.” James noted. “Also a good way to up your cholesterol and alcohol intake.”
     
     “I’m starting to think that might have been Jessi’s plan.” Frank joked, patting his belly.
     
     They entered the bar. Frank was greeted by smiling faces. He waved to them with equal mirth. “Decided to bring the new kid down for a cold one.”
     
     “I was wondering when we’d get to meet you.” The barmaid said, filling a mug with some ale. “You’ve been something of a mystery to the people at finch.”
     
     “Yea…I have a habit of keeping to myself.” James said.
     
     “Well, you shouldn’t. The people at Finch are very friendly.” She assured him.
     
     James just nodded. He figured it wouldn’t be very kind to insult Jess in front of Frank. After all, at least one half of that couple seemed to uphold the barmaid’s claim that the residents at Finch were decent people.
     
     “James, this is Maia.” Frank said. “She’s Jessi’s partner.”
     
     “Oh, cool.” James nodded. “My aunt has a girlfriend in Toronto.”
     
     “Um…Work partner.” Frank said, struggling to hold his laughter. “Jessi and Maia are both married.”
     
     “To men, mind you.” Maia said.
     
     “God…I am so, sorry.” James said, quickly. “I…you can spit in my beer if you’d like.”
     
     “No worries, kid.” She said, handing him his mug. “I’ll let it slide.”
     
     James took a long swig from his mug, his face turning a deep shade of red; something that hadn’t happened to him since he had slipped on the same patch of ice three times in a row in front of his high school back in freshman year.
     
     “So, how you liking it at Finch?” Maia asked.
     
     “It’s nice. I’ve got a great view.”
     
     “I’m aware.” The barmaid said. “I used to live there.”
     
     “Oh?”
     
     “Before Giuseppe and Peters. I moved into 4D, and moved up to 6A with my husband a year later. Giuseppe and Peters moved in some months after that.”
     
     James considered asking Maia about the nature of the living situation of Giuseppe and Peters, but decided against it, given the current situation.
     
     A second woman appeared behind the bar, slightly taller than the first barmaid, and with darker hair.
     
     “Thought you were waiting tables.” Maia said.
     
     “Yea, well the trucker over there keeps giving me the eye. I asked Noelle to take over.”
     
     “Just in time to meet the new guy, then.” Maia said. “This is the allusive James Mason.”
     
     “Oh?” She said. “Pleased to meet you. I think your cousin is in my English class—Lucas Shaw?”
   
     “Yea, that’s him.” James nodded. “He tells me he’s doing well. But I figure he might not be telling me the whole truth.”
   
     “No, he’s doing fine.” Jessi said. “He’s a bit shy though. He’s not too excited about performing some scenes from Romeo and Juliet.”
     
     “Family curse.” James grinned. “The men in my family are abnormally shy. Though, a few of us have escaped it—my brother, for instance. Social butterfly, that one.”
     
     “We’ve got a lot of shy types around here.” Jessi nodded.  “But we have our exceptions. Tony and Jess, to name a few.”
     
     James gave Frank a sidelong glance. Frank was mildly amused.
     
     “So, James,” Jessi began. “I hear you’ve got a nice hole in your wall.”
     
     “Nope. I’ve fixed it.” Frank said proudly. “And I did a pretty fantastic job of it, if I do say so.”
     
     “Did some more dabbling did you?” Maia winked.
     
     “They know about that?” James asked.
     
     “A few people do, yea.” Frank nodded.
     
     “And they’re okay with it?”
     
     “Thing about Redford Vale is,” Jessi said. “That it’s not a normal place. There are a lot of interesting things that go on here. I assume you know that the murders we’ve got going on here aren’t of the human sort.”
     
     “Well…I’ve gathered that much myself.” James said. “I didn’t think the people around here were aware of the…you know…the supernatural.”
     
     “Most of us do.” Jessi said. “A lot of people choose to ignore it. A lot of people aren’t willing to accept that there are things more powerful than themselves. It’s a shame. But that’s the way they want to live.”
     
     “So…can either of you two do magic then?” James asked. “Like Frank or Jess?”
     
     Both women shook their heads. “It takes a certain kind of individual to do what Jess and Frank can do.”
     
     “Some people just can’t do magic at all.” Maia frowned.
     
     “Jess and I kind of met that way. Through magic, I mean.” Frank smiled. “Man she was tough. It takes a special kind of girl to be able to stare a Kafka demon in the eye, fight it, and come out of there alive.”
     
     “Kafka demon?” James repeated. “Those things aren’t exactly small.”
     
     “Not in the slightest. They’re basically giant roaches.” Frank nodded.
     
     “Looks like we’ve got another dabbler.” Jessi said.
     
     “No. Not at all.” James laughed. “I can’t do magic. I’ve just read some books on demons. Just a couple of them. Back in high school. Can I get another drink, please?”
     
     Maia filled up a second mug and handed it to James, taking his previous one.
     
     “You don’t need to be nervous.” Frank told James. “I won’t mention it to Jess.”
     
     James drank from his mug. He set it down onto the bar table. “Be honest. Does she have something against me?”
     
     “She’s not a trusting individual.” Frank said. “She rarely just clicks with someone.”
     
     “She did with Tony.” Jessi said. “The things those to get up to. And you, too, Frank.”
     
     “Well, things were different as of a year ago.” Frank continued. “We had a resident at Finch that caused a great deal of trouble for us. He seemed so normal at the time. I mean, he was a warlock, yea. He had a lot of power. But he never gave off the psychotic killer vibe.”
     
     “He turned out to be a horrible bastard.” Jessi said. “Killed about a dozen people.”
     
     “Well, what happened to him?” James asked.
     
     “Well, he had to be stopped.” Frank said. “Problem is, it’s not easy to stop a raving lunatic with magic powers. So, me, Jess, Mike Phoenix, and some other magically inclined people in town performed a rather tricky spell; one that would keep him out of town for good.”
     
     “He’s been out of our sight since.” Maia said. “He’s tried a bunch of times to get back in, but not even he can break his way in.”
     
     “Well, maybe he did.” James said. “Maybe he found some way in. Maybe he killed all those people.”
     
     “We’ve considered that.” Jessi said. “But I think it’s safe to say it isn’t him.”
     
     “Shawn had a specific style.” Frank nodded. “He wasn’t too fond of the subtle approach. The guy loved grandeur. He made it seem like he was putting on a big show; as if the people he killed were actors in his play.”
     
     “At the most, we may have a copycat on our hands.” Jessi said.
     
     “That’s why Jess isn’t big on letting people in her circle of trust.” Frank admitted. “It’s also why Mike and the others have been pretty strict when it comes to magic and demons.”
     
     “Damn.” James said. “A dozen people, you said?”
     
     “Three of them were children.” Maia said sadly.
     
     “And he’s still out there?” James asked. “He could be doing this to other towns?”
     
     “He could, yea.” Frank said. “But the main reason Shawn was so strong here was because Redford Vale, for whatever reason, has a lot of magic. He could try to do what he did here somewhere else, but he might not be able. Besides, I think a lot of his sprees had to do with the people here.”
     
     “Damn…” James said again.
   
     “I need another drink.” Frank said.
     
     “Make that two.” James agreed.

[TobiasMasonPark]

                                                                                        XII

Appearing: King Hyrule as Lucas Shaw
                  : Horsefan1023 as Rebecca "Becca" Seely
                  : NewBlazingAngel as Nelson Angelo "Blaze" Pryor
                  : Avatar Blue as "Blue"
                  : Tinkles as Skye

     It had begun to get dark out while Lucas and Becca sat on the couch in apartment 4D, waiting for both the arrival of their friends, and the return of Christopher and Nicolas. Becca was responsible for the calls, as she knew more people in the building, while everyone Lucas knew in town was either out in town, or in that very room. It turned out, as Becca expected, that hardly any of their friends were able to come to the party at all—save for Nelson Pryor. Blue and Skye made vague promises of stopping by later in the evening. So, for a long time, it was just Lucas and Becca alone in the apartment. Lucas couldn’t decide whether he preferred the awkward silence over an equally awkward attempt at conversation, or vice versa.
   
      “Would you like to watch a movie?” Lucas asked nervously.
     
     “Sure. What have you got?”
     
     “Mostly things my cousin’s obsessed with—Final Destination, Scream, Lost Boys—“
     
     “Big horror movie buff?” Becca asked, with a hint of suspicion.
     
     “He’s got some comedies as well.” Lucas replied. “Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, mostly just films by John Hughes, and seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
     
     “I haven’t seen Scream before.” Becca said. 
     
     Lucas threw Becca an incredulous look. “James made us watch a marathon last year.”
     
     Lucas popped the disc into the DVD player. He skipped the trailers and moved straight to the disc menu. Then the film began. Lucas returned to his seat on the leather couch—with almost a foot of space between him and Becca. And while the film was playing, Lucas debated against whether or not he should take Christopher’s advice and “make a move”. So involved was he with his own internal dialogue that he hadn’t heard Becca’s question. When he asked her to repeat herself she said: “I just asked if Chris texted you.”
     
     “Oh. Er…Let me check.” Lucas said, fumbling with his cell. “He says ‘have you…’ oh, never mind.”
     
     “Have you what?” Becca asked.
     
     “It was the wrong text.” Lucas lied. “He did text, though. He said he was just running a bit late, and that he and Nick should be here soon.”
     
     Becca looked out the window. The sun had gone down. It was completely dark out. Soon, the street lights would come on.
     
     “You can start heading home, if you’d like.” Lucas offered.
     
     “No. It’s fine.” She said, smiling. “Let’s just watch the movie.”
     
     Some time passed. Lucas knew Henry Winkler’s character was about to get the axe. Becca, however, was unaware. So when the doorbell rang at the exact same time Ghostface had appeared from behind Winkler, Becca leapt about five feet in the air. Both stared at the door.
     
     “Should one of us get it?” She asked, slightly nervous.
     
     “I don’t know.” Lucas replied. “It could be a killer.”
     
     “If you think I’m easy to scare, you’ve got another thing coming.” Becca said, getting up from her place on the couch to answer the door. “If you texted Chris to tell him to scare me, you’re both in trouble.”
     
     Lucas could have sworn he saw Becca hesitate before turning the door knob. She pulled the door back. In stepped Nelson Pryor.
     
     “Finally. I was waiting out there, y’know.”
     
     “Well excuse me, King Nelson.” Becca said, rolling her eyes. She shut the door behind Nelson. “We’re watching Scream.”
     
     Nelson frowned. “Never seen it.”
     
     “Neither have I.” Becca said. “Lucas’ cousin is apparently obsessed with them.”
     
     “Is he?” Nelson said, with the same suspicion Becca’s voice carried some time earlier.
     
     “He just likes the movie.” Lucas said, defensively.
     
     “I didn’t say anything.” Nelson retorted.
     
     “Well, you seem to be implying that my cousin is some kind of killer.”
     
    “I’m not saying anything like that at all.” Nelson replied. “Though, I’m not saying he isn’t either.”
     
     “Alright. How about this,” Lucas said, getting to his feet. “Why are you alive when three other people who faced this demon were ripped to shreds? Seems a bit weird that you should escape with a little bite.”
     
     “I got lucky.” Nelson said. “Christopher was there. He must have scared the demon off.”
     
     “It’s weird that the demon just came back after us all a few minutes later.” Lucas remarked. “And I can’t get past the fact that you’re still alive. I mean, that Tobias guy lost his head.”
     
     “Fine. I’m sorry for implying that your cousin was up to no good.” Nelson said. “Can we watch the movie now?”
     
     Lucas sat back down on the couch, staring stonily at Nelson before finally returning his gaze to the screen. It took some time before he noticed that he was sitting significantly closer to Becca. He could feel her skin pressed up against his. Their arms were touching!
     
     “Are you liking it so far?” Lucas asked.
     
     “Meh. It’s not very scary.” Nelson replied.
     
     Lucas didn’t bother mentioning the fact that he hadn’t asked Blaze in the first place.
     
     “It’s good.” Becca said, smiling. “But Nelson’s right. It’s not very scary.”
     
     “Well, James might have something scarier.” Lucas said, quickly.
     
     “No, no. It’s fine. I want to keep watching.”
     
     The doorbell rang again. All three heads swivelled to face the door. Nelson was visibly nervous. Lucas and Becca shared looks of amusement.
     
     “Why don’t you answer it, Blaze.” Becca suggested.
     
     “And be sure to ask “who’s there?’” Lucas added.
     
     “You guys are so NOT funny.” Blaze retorted. With the aid of his crutches he hobbled to answer the door. He fumbled with the knob, still supported by his crutches. Once he opened the door, Skye and Blue entered.
     
     “Scream?” Blue frowned. “You said you’d be watching a scary movie.”
     
     “It’s almost over.” Lucas said. “We’re at the party scene.”
     
     “Where’s everyone else?” Skye asked.
     
     “We are everyone else.” Blaze mumbled. “Supposedly, no one else could show up.”
     
     “Well, where are Nick and Chris” Blue asked.
     
     “They went to get snacks.” Becca said. “About…an hour ago.”
     
     “Oh…well, that’s a good sign.” Blue said darkly. “And we’ve got a murderer running around town.”
     
     “What should we do?” Blaze asked nervously. “I mean… do we call the cops?”
     
     “I’m calling James.” Lucas said, pressing the phone to his ear.
     
     The sound of ringing filled the room. Blue followed the noise down the hall. “Looks like he left his phone here.” Blue shouted.
     
     “He always has his phone with him.” Lucas said, mostly to himself. “How many bars are there in Redford?”
     
     Blue had returned. He shrugged. “A few, why?”
     
     “James went to a bar with Jess’ boyfriend.” Lucas told them. “We need to find James. Something’s up.”
     
     “There’s one bar I know Frank loves to go to.” Blue said. “Galaxy’s edge, just a few blocks away. It’s near school.”
     
     “We’d better head out.” Becca said.
     
     The group turned around. Standing in the door way was the smiling face of the zombified Tobias Roark.
     
     “Please. Don’t mind me. I’m just here to watch.”
     
     A demon crashed through the recently remodeled wall.
     
___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ________

Edit: Due to a foolish mistake on the part of the author, Chapter XIII has been left out. He has posted it here to remedy his foolishness.
Edit: Due to a second blunder on the part of a most foolish author, Chatper XIII has been submitted to the same post as Chapter VII, which is obviously incorrect. The mistake has been remedied.

                                                                                    XIII

Appearing: Empress Goose as James Mason
                  : Frank as Frank
                  : KitCloudKicker as Jess Shalner
                  : KoKo as Coraline Cole
                  : Avatar Blue as Brayden "Blue" Howard
                  : Tinkles as Skye
                  : Crossoverfan as Christopher Leeds
                  : Horsefan1023 as Rebecca "Becca" Seely

     James steadied himself with the help of his new pal Frank. Neither man was particularly drunk, but each had reached their buzz. James was the one who finally called it a night, after nearly six beers. Frank, who had a good two beers on his neighbour, tipped the barmaids and helped James make the trip back home. Surprisingly, they managed to get home without falling once, which James was rather proud of.
     
     “I am so glad you and Jess got together, bud.” James gushed. “You two are so great. Just…so great.”
     
     “I know. We are.” Frank said with a dopey smile. “We really, really are.”
     
     “And you both can, like, do magic. How freaky is that?”
     
     “We should…we should teach you some magic, Jimmy.” Frank offered. “Maybe then Jess wouldn’t be so mean to you.”
     
     “Hey look, the door man!” James shouted, waving.
     
     “That’s not the door man.” Frank said, squinting. “That’s…er…I know his name…”
     
     Despite not being the doorman-- or even a man at all--Caroline Cole, who was about to enter the building, held the door open for both James and Frank. James handed her a ten dollar bill and said in a slightly slurred voice: “Keep the change. You’re a handsome doorman!”
     
     James and Frank left Caroline in bewilderment and proceeded to take the staircase, and not the elevator, up to their floor. By the time they reached the third floor, they noticed a significantly larger number of people—people who seemed to be buzzed themselves, though not on beer.
     
     “…Something big, green and covered in hair.” One woman said. “And…And I realize this was insane, but I could have sworn I saw Mr. Roark with it. They were carrying a kid with them.”
     
     “I’m telling you,” another man said. “I am going to move out of this nutty little town. Mark my words.”
     
     “You say this, and yet you’re still here.”
     
     The remainder of the conversation was lost to Frank and James, who had by now reached the fourth floor. James struggled to pull out his keys out of his pocket. Frank nudged him.
     
     “James…look.”
     
     James lifted his head. His buzz was gone—as was the wall Frank had replaced earlier that day.
     
     “****!” James swore, running through the large hole into his apartment.
     
     Inside apartment 4D was a scene out of a horror film; which was appropriate, as James noticed Scream had been playing on the television. The first face he had seen was that of Nelson Pryor, who appeared to be unconscious, but still alive.
     
     Across the room sat Blue, bleeding from his temple and shoulder, but conscious. Beside him was an unmoving Skye, who was being tended to by Jess Shalner.
     
     Lucas and Becca were not in sight.
     
     “What the hell happened?” Frank demanded.
     
     “Where were you?” Jess snapped, getting to her feet.
     
     “We were down at Galaxy’s Edge.” Frank replied. “Jess…was it the demon?”
     
     “Of course it was the f*cking demon!” Jess shouted.
     
     “Where’s Lucas?” James asked, sobered up by the scene.
     
     “Becca said the demon took him.” Jess said. “She’s in the bathroom, getting cleaned up. Listen, James, we need to have a talk.”
   
     “I’ve got no time for talk, Jess.” James said. “I’ve got a cousin to find.”
     
     “Two.” Jess said.
     
     “Two?” He repeated.
     
     “Becca also told me they had been waiting for Christopher Leeds and Nicolas to come back with snacks. They never did.”
     
     James swore again.
     
     “The demon just attacked?” Frank asked. “In a building full of people?”
     
     “Looks that way.” Jess said, impatiently. “Maybe James could tell us why?”
     
     “What’s it going to take to prove to you that I’m not responsible for this?!” James shouted.
     
     No one said a word. Jess wasn’t intimidated. She was just struck by the fact that Billy Loomis said more or less the same words in the film that was currently playing—and at the exact same time.
     
     “You stare me in the face and say you aren’t hiding something from us.” Jess said. “Tell us why the hell you came here, of all places.”
     
     “We don’t have time.” James snapped. “My cousins are out there right now, probably being served on a plate to a demon with that Leeds kid. And you want to have a chat?”
     
     “He’s got a point, Jess.” Frank said. “We find the kids. Then we’ll talk to James about whatever motives you think he’s hiding.”
     
     “We don’t even know where to look.” Blue grumbled. “The zombie didn’t exactly say where it would be headed. He just said that he’d got what he came for.”
     
     “He was looking for Luc?” James asked, bewildered. “Why?”
     
     “I think I might know.”
     
     Everyone turned to see a bleeding, but still quite alive Christopher Leeds supporting himself against what was left of James’ wall.
     
     “Frank, help him in.” Jess said. “He’s hurt.”
     
     “We don’t have much time.” Chris said, wincing. “They’ve got Nick and Luc. And they’re aiming to kill.”
     
     “How’d you get away?” James asked. “The demon didn’t kill you?”
     
     “I…er…Played dead.” Christopher said, ashamed. “It went after me first. It grabbed me and cut me with its…well, I guess they were claws. Then tossed me to the side and went after Nick.”
     
     “We’re still no closer to finding them.” Frank said.
     
     “We might be closer than you think.” Christopher replied. “They weren’t exactly conspicuous. They left a bloody trail…literally.”
     
     “And you followed them?” James asked.
     
     “Well, yea.  I mean, I had to. Nick and Luc are my buds. I wasn’t going to let them die there.”
     
     “Fine, Christopher. Where did the demons take Nicolas?”
     
     “They went to the school.” Christopher answered. “I mean, they went into the school.”
     
     “Why would they be heading there?” Frank wondered.
     
     “I didn’t follow them in.” Christopher admitted. “But the trail is still fresh. I…I think they wanted you guys to follow them.”
     
     “Well. Looks like tonight’s their lucky night.” Jess said grimly. “We’re going. And we’re going to kick their asses.”
     
     “No. You need to stay here with the kids.” Frank said. “They need to be patched up.” James and I will go with Christopher.”
     
     “How about I go with James, and you stay here?” Jess argued.
     
     “You’re more adept at this magic stuff.” Frank reasoned. “I wouldn’t be much help.”
     
     “Frank, I’m not going to sit here—“
     
     “How about neither of you come!” James snapped. “I’ll go with Christopher and save my cousin. You two sit here and bicker.”
     
     “Nobody’s being reasonable.” A quiet voice said.
     
     A badly bruised and beaten Becca entered the room. She was rubbing her shoulder.
     
     “Jess, you need to stay here to make sure that Blue, Skye and Nelson are ok. Frank should go alert the cops for fire power. I’ll go with James.”
     
     “Oh no you will not.” Frank argued. “You’re just a kid.”
     
     “So is Lucas.” Becca nodded. “Just kids…And still we were attacked. The demon was trying to get me…Lucas wouldn’t let it. It…it had already knocked out Nelson, and he almost killed Skye. Blue was fighting off Mr. Roark…who…well, he isn’t Mr. Roark anymore….”
     
     “We know about Roark.” Frank said. “Go on, Rebecca.”
     
     “It came after me next, but Lucas just jumped at it. It batted him away, but Lucas kept coming for more. Then the demon cut Lucas pretty deep…and suddenly, the demon lost interest in me. It grabbed Lucas. Mr. Roark asked whether or not the demon was sure. I think it nodded…or something like a nod…Mr. Roark said they had found what they wanted and left.”
     
     “So it’s been looking for something this entire time.” Frank said. “Something that Giuseppe, Peters and Roark didn’t have…Something that the demon found in Lucas.”
     
     Everyone stared at James.
     
     “Look, I have no clue.” James said, annoyed. “It would have made sense for it to take Nicolas. But, as far as I can tell, Lucas is ordinary.”
     
     “What’s Nicolas got?” Frank asked.
     
     “Lycanthropy.” Jess answered. James was visibly shocked. “I knew I sensed something off about this place. It was the wolfsbane he’s been keeping in the cabinet. He must have been feeding it to the kid. I found it when I got everyone patched up. I was looking for a first aid kit—just for insurance.”
     
     “Oh my God.” Becca whispered. “Nicolas isn’t the one...”
     
     “No!” James shouted. “I’ve been keeping him close. He’s not responsible. He isn’t the one killing people in town.” James gave a pleading look to everyone in the room. “I’m all they’ve got. And…right now…they’re all I’ve got, too.”
     
     “I’ll stay with the kids…for now.” Jess said after a moment’s silence. “We go with Rebecca’s plan: Frank goes to the cops. James goes with Christopher.”
     
     “I’m going, too.” Becca announced. And before anyone could protest, she said: “I owe it to Lucas. He saved my life.”
     
     “Look,” James began. “Assuming I’m not killed by the demon already, if anything happens to Becca, you’re free to flay me alive.”
     
     “You bet your ass.” Jess snarled. “You protect her, James. With your life.”
     
     James nodded. He turned to Christopher. “Take us to them.”

     
     
     

[TobiasMasonPark]

                                                                                        XIV

Appearing: Empress Goose as James Mason
                  : Horsefan1023 as Rebecca "Becca" Seely
                  : Crossoverfan as Christopher Leeds.

     It was James’ first visit ever to Redford Vale Secondary School; and it wasn’t even with his own cousin. Lucas’ enrollment into the school had been rushed; all done over the phone. James had made Nicolas walk Lucas to school every morning—something that he now regretted very much. And should he, Nicolas and Lucas make it out alive, James vowed to walk Lucas to and from school until the kid graduated.
     
     Christopher led James and Becca to the front of the school. He was right about there being a trail of blood. James figured the demon was either completely stupid, or that the entire thing was a set up. And, being a pessimist, James figured it was the latter.
     
     “It looks like the trail continues from inside the building.” Christopher said, peering through one of the windows. “I’ll go first?”
     
     James nodded. “I’ll keep to the back.”
     
     Christopher took a deep breath, exhaled, and slowly opened the front door to the school.
     
     The three filed into the building.
     
     The inside of the building was dark, but to the group walking through the halls the blood on the floor tiles shone like crimson. A foul smell filled the air; a smell that Becca couldn’t quite place. She covered her nose with her shirt, and forced herself not to look down at her feet as she walked through the pools of blood. Despite the precautions she took upon herself, she couldn’t block out the stench; nor could she keep herself from looking down. But she never once turned back. She kept on going.
     
     “The demon must be using the basement as its base of operations.” Christopher said. “The entrance is just down this hall.”
     
     “This place has a basement?” James asked.
     
     “Yea. It’s mostly used as a storage room,” Becca replied. “Sometimes kids go down there to smoke.”
     
     “And you think the demon has been hiding down there the entire time?” James asked, with a hint of skepticism.
     
     “Well…maybe.” Christopher said. “It’s all we’ve got to go on.”
     
     “We could always do this.” James offered.
     
      He pulled the fire alarm.
     
     A blaring noise filled the building. Becca covered both ears, exposing her nose to the overwhelming stench that she still couldn’t place.
     
     “You plan on making us go deaf?” Christopher shouted over the alarm.
     
     “Just stand still. Don’t move.” James ordered. “It’ll come to us.”
     
     “And that’s what you’d call a good idea?!”
     
      Within moments there was a crash. The demon had run right through a classroom wall—actually, several-- and was now crouched in front of the trio.  It was the same demon Christopher and Becca approached several nights before—big, ugly, covered with green moss-like fur, and multiple rows of teeth. It was much larger than the hallway the group stood in, and its head scraped against the ceiling. It was howling at the sound of the fire alarm; thrashing its massive head about and waving its hulking arms. Pieces of the walls were flying all over the place as the demons big knuckles scraped the concrete.
     
     “I think you made it mad.” Christopher told James.
     
     “That was part of the plan.” James said with a grin.
     
     “To have it eat us?!”
     
     James pulled out a knife from inside his leather jacket. He pushed Christopher aside and leapt at the green demon with a wild look in his eyes. He slashed at the demons face. The blade made contact with the creature’s jaw and sliced it open. Red-black blood poured out from the sides of the mouth. The demon’s howls grew louder; the speed of its thrashing increased. James continued to slash away with the knife, cutting off chucks of the mossy fur that protected the beast’s skin.
     
     The demon spat at James. The loogie missed, hitting the wall behind James and leaving a gaping hole in its place. James drove the knife deep into the demon’s skull, expecting it to puncture the demon’s brain and kill it. The demon just batted James away as though the knife was a mere inconvenience. It bellowed some more as it ran right at Becca. The girl let out a scream that was drowned out by the sound of the alarm.
     
     The demon tossed Becca aside. It instead went for Christopher.
     
     “James!” Becca cried. “It’s got Chris!”
     
     James struggled to get to his feet, but was slightly disoriented from the demon’s beating. Becca helped him get to his feet.
     
     “It ran off with Chris.” She told him. “Quick. We need to follow it.”
     
     “Just give me a sec.”
     
     “We don’t have a sec!” She shouted. “If we wait any longer that thing will kill Chris. It could have already killed Nicolas and Luc!”
     
     James thought on this. “Alright. Let’s go!”
     
     They ran through puddles of blood, occasionally reaching some dry spots. The duo reached a gaping hole in a wall that revealed a descending staircase.
     
     “The basement?” James asked. Becca nodded. “Let’s get on with it, then.”
     
     They sped down the staircase with its many landings, eventually reaching the basement of the school. At the east end of the room, there stood a large shelf. The shelf itself was ajar, as if it had been concealing something.
     
     “I don’t like the looks of this.” James muttered. “Whenever there’s a shelf that doubles as a secret passage way, there’s always some mad scientist’s laboratory, or executioner’s chamber hidden behind it.”
     
     “It’s definitely a trap.” Becca agreed. “There’s no way the demon just left the shelf like that.”
     
     “Shall I go first then?”
     
     “Only because you’re stronger.”
     
     “Uh huh.” James sighed. “I’m sure that’s why.”
     
     He grabbed the side of the shelf and pulled it all the way back, revealing the mouth of a dark cave.
     
     “Survey says, executioner’s torture chamber.” James said. “That was family feud.”
     
     “And it was a wonderful impression. Can we go to our doom now?” Becca asked.
     
     James forced back a smile. It was not the time to laugh. He entered the cave first, with Becca trailing behind him. The two felt their way through the narrow passageway, pressing their hands against cold stone and rock. The path was uneven, and the duo bumped into jutting rocks along the way. In the distance they could hear a faint drip drip sound. Yup, Becca thought to herself. We are definitely in a cave.
     
     “I wonder how long this place has been down here.” James whispered.
     
     “The school’s pretty old, I think.” Becca replied. “It goes back a few generations. They probably built the school right over the cave without really knowing what they had in front of them.”
     
     “You wouldn’t happen to have a lighter, would you?” James asked.
     
     “I don’t smoke.”
     
     “Neither do I.” Then a thought occurred to James. “Lucas doesn’t, right?”
     
     “As far as I know.” Becca replied.
     
     “You two seem pretty close.” James said, casually. “Mind if I ask if you two have ever—“
     
     He was cut off.
   
    “James?” Becca cried. “James!”
     
     “’m alright!” He shouted. “Don’t take another step. I’ve fallen through…I don’t know, exactly.”
     
     “Can you see anything?”
     
     “It’s still dark.” He shouted. “I don’t think I fell too far down, though. Feel around the ground. Look for…I don’t know an edge or something.”
     
     Becca did this. “Yea. I feel it.”
     
     “See if you can maybe hoist yourself down.”
     
     Becca lay on her stomach, sliding her body around so her legs were facing the edge of where James had fallen. She backed herself up and slowly felt her way over the edge. The ground was moist and slippery, and she couldn’t find anything to hold on to. 
     
     She slipped.
     
     “You ok?” James asked
     
     “I think so.” Becca got to her feet. “Yea. Nothing’s broken.”
     
     “I think I’ve sprained my ankle.” James grunted.
     
     “Can you walk?”
     
     “It shouldn’t be too much of an issue, I don’t think.” James said. “Let’s just keep going. I think I can hear something over this way.”
     
     “Where are you?” She asked.
     
     “Probably a few inches away from you. Here, I’m taking off my jacket. Grab the arm.”
     
     Becca felt the air for the jacket. “Ok. I’ve got it.”
     
     “Ok. I’m going to start walking.”
     
     They walked for a few minutes before it dawned on Becca. “I’ve got my phone with me!”
     
      She fumbled with her pockets and pulled out a small iPhone. She pressed the center button. The light went on. James’ face was revealed in the dark. He squinted. “You wait until I’ve nearly broken my leg to remember you brought a phone?”
     
     “Sorry.” She said, meekly.
     
     “I’ll yell at you after we kill this thing.” James joked. He put his leather jacket back on. “You’d better lead the way.”
     
     The duo continued. The walk proved to be a short one. Some distance away they noticed a light. They sped up a little once they saw it. The closer they got to the light, the faster they ran. It was difficult, since the cave floor was so moist. But Becca and James managed to steady themselves long enough; only to fall into what they initially believed to be a lake.
     
     The light from the iPhone went out.
     
     “Ah!” Becca screamed.
     
     “Are you ok?” James asked. “Can you swim?”
     
     “Yea. But the water’s freezing!” she said, teeth chattering. “I can still see the light from the cave.”
     
     “Better get going before something starts to bite us.” James suggested.
     
     They paddled expertly through the water. They both reached a dead end. They pulled themselves up out of the water and got to their feet. Both of them were drenched, but the source of the light was right in front of them.
     
     “I see something.” James whispered. “It looks like…It might be Nick.”
     
     “I’m sure he’s fine. He must be passed out.”
     
     “We go in slowly.” James said firmly. “We don’t want the demon to hear us coming.”
     
     James and Becca reached the end of the tunnel. They stopped a few feet away, close enough to see the pool of blood surrounding Nicolas. James gasped. Before Becca could pull him back, James ran out of the tunnel. He crouched next to his cousin’s body, holding his head over Nicolas’ chest to look for a heartbeat. It was faint, but there. James thanked God.
     
     James appeared to be in an ancient antechamber, perhaps a hundred feet beneath the Redford Vale school building. He checked his surroundings; there were two tunnels: one on the east end—where he and Becca had entered—and one at the south end.  In the middle of the room was an altar of sorts, made of an ancient looking stone. Aside from the altar, there was not much else in the cave. James returned his attention to Nicolas and started shaking his cousin’s body awake.
     
     “Wake up, bud.” James said hurriedly. “Wake up.
     
     “James, look out!” Becca shouted from the tunnel.
     
     James turned around just in time to see a tall humanoid figure wearing a blood red cloak and wielding a long, silver blade. The tip was covered in crimson blood. The cloaked figure seemed to have entered through the western tunnel. James leapt at the newcomer, only to be tossed aside. Becca rushed to James’ aid.
     
     “Don’t move another step, Becca!” The figure warned, threatening Becca with the knife he held.
     
     Becca’s eyes went wide with a mixture of fear and surprise. “But that’s—“
     
     The figure pulled back its hood to reveal the grinning face of Christopher Leeds.